Large-scale structure in the NIR-selected MUNICS survey

The Munich Near-IR Cluster Survey (MUNICS) is a wide-area, medium-deep, photometric survey selected in the K' band. The project's main scientific aims are the identification of galaxy clusters up to redshifts of unity and the selection of a large sample of field early-type galaxies up to z < 1.5 for evolutionary studies. We created a Large Scale Structure catalog, using a new structure finding technique specialized for photometric datasets, that we developed on the basis of a friends-of-friends algorithm. We tested the plausibility of the resulting galaxy group and cluster catalog with the help of Color-Magnitude Diagrams (CMD), as well as a likelihood- and Voronoi-approach. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Conflicting imaginations: Archaeology, anthropology and geomorphology on Leskernick Hill, Bodmin Moor, southwest Britain

In this paper we view the different practices of archaeology, anthropology, environmental reconstruction and geomorphology through the lens of fieldwork on the clitter fields and Bronze Age settlement patterns on Leskernick Hill, Bodmin Moor, southwest Britain. The moor forms one of the best preserved fossil prehistoric landscapes of Europe and has undergone repeated periglacial episodes during the Quaternary. We show that the characterisation of patterned ground by archaeologists and anthropologists can be very different from that generated by geomorphology, particularly with respect to the spatial scales at which culture/nature questions are posed. We argue that the research project at Leskernick is a good example of how multi-disciplinary work is often more fruitful than mono-disciplinary and provides an example of how conversations across the divides of disciplinary practice can be held.     

Agricultural land use in the coastal area of the Alexander von Humboldt National Park, Cuba and its implication for conservation and sustainability

In the Alexander von Humboldt National Park in eastern Cuba many endemic animals and plants are found in various different natural habitats, which are considered to be the most important ones for in-situ conservation in the entire Insular Caribbean. In some areas of the National Park agriculture is practised. Thus, the objective of this study was to document and analyse the different land use activities and their consequences for local resource management and conservation of biodiversity in two village areas. A particular question was: what has changed since the foundation of the National Park in 1996? As time series data for land use and aerial photographs were not available for this part of Cuba, a qualitative evaluation was carried out. For this, six different land use units were mapped in 2001 and additional information gathered for areas with special interest related to sustainable land use and resource conservation. Although most parts of the study area are influenced to various degrees by human impact, the different types of land use seem presently not to have a crucial or detrimental impact on the land resources of the Alexander von Humboldt National Park. However, exploitation of the natural resources in certain areas could be improved with different management options to reach sustainability as well as to meet the conservation objectives of the National Park. This includes reduced or abandoned agricultural use of steep slopes to reduce erosion risk as well as a facilitated regeneration of natural vegetation in many parts of the study area to be able to conserve the high valuable biodiversity of the Park. Environmental education seems to have played an important and successful role since the foundation of the Park in 1996. Since then, cropping on steep slopes as well as illegal logging and poaching could be reduced.     

Back to the future: reflections and directions of South African marine bioinvasion research

Biological invasions continue to increase around the world, with impacts on many coastal marine systems. Here we review the South African marine invasion literature which, despite the field being relatively new, has grown to have significant presence in both the local and international arenas. Of the 79 papers reviewed, 70% focused on the establishment and spread of alien species, with modes of transport and introduction largely overlooked. An emphasis was also apparent towards field studies, in particular survey work, with few experimental studies. The overwhelming majority of papers focused on a single species, the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, reflecting the scale of this invasion and the tractable nature of rocky shores as study systems. With the exception of this one species, the impacts of marine alien species have rarely been quantified. We suggest that future research extends the taxonomic coverage of present work and develops a better understanding of the mechanisms of introduction, establishment and spread of marine alien species. Through an experimental approach, the drivers of altered ecological patterns and processes resulting from invasions should be addressed, providing insight into associated impacts. This approach will maintain the local applicability and international relevance of South African marine invasion research.     

The Transiometer: An Alternative Method of Soil Moisture Measurement in Slowly Permeable Soils

The union of a piezoresistive pressure transducer and a porous ceramic cup was termed "transiometer." The transiometer was constructed from economical and readily available materials. It could be used to measure soil water potentials in both saturated and unsaturated conditions, and was well suited to continuous monitoring with data acquisition equipment.
Transiometer testing was conducted at two sites, one of moderate permeability and the other of slow permeability. The slowly permeable site was instrumented with four replications of the following: (1) transiometers installed at four depths, (2) a transi-ometerwithout the ceramic cup, (3) apiezometer, and (4) access tubes for monitoring soil moisture with a neutron probe. The moderately permeable site was instrumented with a transiometer, two piezometers, and an access tube for monitoring with a neutron probe.
In saturated conditions the transiometer had a faster response time after installation than the piezometer. Faster response makes the transiometer more desirable for use in slowly permeable soils, especially when monitoring dynamic soil water.
Calculated random error of the transiometer measuring system, including a digital voltmeter and a scanner, was typically 0.09 feet (2.8cm), with a maximum calculated to be 0.38 feet (11.5cm). The two most significant components were imprecision of the scanner card and calibration shift. The transiometer was sensitive to atmospheric pressure fluctuations, with sensitivity to atmospheric pressure change increasing with installation depth.     

Strontium-calcium ratios in Cenozoic planktonic foraminifera

The $\text{Sr}\text{Ca}$ ratio and other parameters have been measured in fossil planktonic foraminifera from the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean basins in order to evaluate the $\text{Sr}\text{Ca}$ ratio of seawater during the last 75 million years. Results on well-preserved samples indicate that the ratio has increased to its present value by 10–15% during the Cenozoic, and that minima occurred between 55-45 Ma and 10-5 Ma, when the ratio was 15–25% less than at present. The long-term increase may reflect either decreasing deposition of aragonite with a high $\text{Sr}\text{Ca}$ ratio in shallow seas, or decreasing seafloor spreading rates and consequently decreasing hydrothermal supply of Ca during the Cenozoic. Other geologic evidence suggests that the Eocene minimum (near 50 Ma) may have resulted from increased aragonite sedimentation, while the Late Miocene minimum (between 10-5 Ma) may have been caused by an increased rate of seawater-basalt exchange when seafloor spreading rates increased on the East Pacific Rise near 10 Ma.     

Computation of 5-day temperature normals in western Europe and the Mediterranean area

Summary UsingCraddock's method of representing the annual temperature variation by a two-term harmonic form fitted to monthly means, the harmonic coefficients of 63 stations in western Europe and around the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the 5-day normals for 24 Mediterranean stations, were computed and tabulated. In addition, some of the harmonic coefficients were charted and isoplethed, showing very distinctly the influence of continentality and topography. These charts, together withCraddock's charts for northern and northwestern Europe, provide fairly complete coverage of Europe and the Mediterranean area.This paper was prepared in the offices of the Technical Support Division of the 2d Weather Wing, United States Air Force, as a matter of routine business. The information contained herein was presented at the 5th Meeting of the Italian Society of Geophysics and Meteorology by Dr.Ingrid Weiss (Genoa: 23–25 April 1957). Since the paper is of general interest to all meteorologists of the Mediterranean area, it is published here with the permission of the originating agency as «Mémoire No. 3 du Centre International de Recherches sur la Météorologie de la Méditerranée (CIRMM)».     

星载激光光斑影像激光指向变化探测法

地面光斑足印的定位精度高度依赖于激光指向角的测量精度,星载激光光斑质心提取及其变化规律对激光指向角的分析具有重要的意义。本文基于ICESat/GLAS的激光剖面阵列（laser profile array,LPA）影像数据,首先利用灰度一阶矩阵法提取LPA的质心,精度优于0.3个像素,LPA相对定位精度优于0.11个像素。其次利用傅里叶变换和傅里叶级数拟合对LPA质心坐标的变化进行周期探测和建模分析,结果表明,激光光斑影像的质心坐标存在1.83×10^-4 Hz、3.36×10^-4 Hz、5.19×10^-4 Hz和6.71×10^-4 Hz 4个明显的周期变化,拟合结果的相关性R²达到了0.86,拟合精度可达0.4″,优于0.13个像素,得到了较好的结果。可为我国的高分七号和后续的卫星激光测高数据处理提供参考。     

Helium-uranium dating of corals from Middle Pleistocene Barbados reef tracts

By He-U dating of corals from elevated Pleistocene reef tracts on Barbados, we have extended back to the Middle Pleistocene the high sea stand chronology previously deduced by Th²³⁰-U dating. Six samples from the first major reef tract complex older than the 200,000-yr complex gave ages of 350,000 ± 25,000 yr B.P. Two corals from the crest of Second High Cliff, an unusually large escarpment occurring approximately midway in the terrace sequence, gave concordant ages of 480,000 and 500,000 yr. Unrecrystallized corals from older reefs gave ages ranging back to 650,000 yr.The results date episodes of high sea stands at 350,000 and 500,000 yr B.P.