工程地质学科的自然科学基金项目申请资助概况与分析

对2003年至2007年工程地质学科的基金申请情况、资助情况、研究队伍等情况进行了详细分析。工程地质学是地质学科发展最快的分支学科之一,其基础研究队伍在各单位之间还不均衡。工程地质学的基金项目申请数量和资助数量与其研究队伍的状况是匹配的,申请经费基本得到了满足,但申请项目质量还有待进一步提高。工程地质学科在国家层面上的领军人才的培养,特别是年青领军人才的培养迫在眉睫,应引起有关部门和单位的高度重视。     

Reflecting on the risks and ethical dilemmas of digital research

As technology continues to evolve, digital methods are increasingly becoming key components of social and cultural geographers’ research toolkits. This paper explores the risky and uncertain dimensions of digital research by reflecting on an adverse ethical event which occurred in research involving young people and online dialogic diaries. Assemblage thinking is used to conceptually frame the data leakage event, the subsequent disruption of confidentiality, and the wide-ranging affects and effects that followed. Three particular issues which are critical for researchers working with digital methodologies to consider are highlighted: the ethical implications of procedural disruption, institutional responses within the neoliberal university, and researcher wellbeing. We conclude by advocating for researchers to continue to push boundaries with digital research but suggest that this needs to be undertaken in an informed way that takes account of the immanent potential for digital disruption.     

Side-Scan Sonar Characteristics and Manganese Nodule Abundance in the Clarion—Clipperton Fracture Zones, NE Equatorial Pacific

The deep ocean floor between the Clarion and Clipperton fracture zones (NE equatorial Pacific) has the highest known manganese nodule abundance in the world oceans. A detailed analysis of MR1 (Mapping Researcher 1, 11-12 kHz) sonar images and free-fall grab data in the Korean manganese nodule field areas reveals a close relationship between side-scan sonar characteristics of the seafloor and manganese nodule abundance. Eight sonar facies are identified based on back-scattering intensity and distribution patterns. These sonar facies can be interpreted as (1) volcanic seamounts (facies I-1), (2) bounding faults of abyssal hills (facies I-2 and II-1), (3) lava flows or volcanoclastic mass-flow deposits around the volcanic seamounts (facies I-3 and II-2), (4) crests of abyssal hills (facies II-1), (5) abyssal troughs between abyssal hills (facies III-1), (6) relatively flat areas (facies II-3 and III-2). In the areas where facies II-1 (abyssal hill crests with thin sediment cover) and II-3 (relatively flat areas draped by thin sediments) are dominant, manganese nodules occur abundantly. In contrast, zones comprising facies III-1 (abyssal troughs with thick sediment cover) and III-2 (relatively flat areas covered by thick sediments) are characterized by low abundance of manganese nodules. This relationship between distribution of sonar facies and manganese nodule abundance implies that (1) the qualitative difference in acoustic reflectivity of long-range side-scan sonar with some ground truth data is useful for regional assessment of manganese nodule occurrence over wide areas in a reasonable time, and (2) seafloor topography and sediment thickness are important controlling factors for regional occurrences of manganese nodules.     

Ethical consumption: Uncovering personal meanings and negotiation strategies

The purpose of this paper is to examine how individuals define ethical consumption (EC) and then how they negotiate ethical consumption as they move from one country to another. The authors explore these questions by reporting on and interpreting the evolution of their understanding of EC and their own ethical consumption behavior, the EC practices that have endured over time and national contexts, the tensions they encountered in maintaining EC practices in these transitions and the adaptive strategies they used to manage those tensions. While there has been research on the tensions faced by individuals practicing EC, there has been a paucity of research investigating those tensions from a cross-country and longitudinal perspective. Moreover, although several studies have focused on EC purchase practices of specific goods (e.g., athletic shoes, fair-trade commodities), none has considered this question in the context of purchases of basic needs categories – food, water, energy, transportation and housing. Each of the three authors has been able to maintain his or her own personal consumption ethic in spite of living in different countries. Whenever consumption practices emanate from, and are imbedded within, a strong ethical framework of values that informs EC, each was able to make the necessary adjustments to overcome the obstacles and points of resistance across countries. Even in those situations involving considerable inconvenience and discomfort, each used adaptive strategies that allowed retention of their consumption practices. Among those strategies employed by the authors were choice of community in which to live, self-regulation and self-reliance.     

Research Ethics,Trauma and Self-care: reflections on disaster geographies

In this Research Note, I reflect on researcher trauma in the discipline of geography, and explore ways to build a framework for researcher self-care by facilitating conversations about mental health in collaboration with Human Research Ethics Committees, Professional and Organisational Development Services and Workplace Health and Safety units.     

Side-Scan Sonar Characteristics and Manganese Nodule Abundance in the Clarion—Clipperton Fracture Zones,NE Equatorial Pacific

The deep ocean floor between the Clarion and Clipperton fracture zones (NE equatorial Pacific) has the highest known manganese nodule abundance in the world oceans. A detailed analysis of MR1 (Mapping Researcher 1, 11–12?kHz) sonar images and free-fall grab data in the Korean manganese nodule field areas reveals a close relationship between side-scan sonar characteristics of the seafloor and manganese nodule abundance. Eight sonar facies are identified based on back-scattering intensity and distribution patterns. These sonar facies can be interpreted as (1) volcanic seamounts (facies I-1), (2) bounding faults of abyssal hills (facies I-2 and II-1), (3) lava flows or volcanoclastic mass-flow deposits around the volcanic seamounts (facies I-3 and II-2), (4) crests of abyssal hills (facies II-1), (5) abyssal troughs between abyssal hills (facies III-1), (6) relatively flat areas (facies II-3 and III-2). In the areas where facies II-1 (abyssal hill crests with thin sediment cover) and II-3 (relatively flat areas draped by thin sediments) are dominant, manganese nodules occur abundantly. In contrast, zones comprising facies III-1 (abyssal troughs with thick sediment cover) and III-2 (relatively flat areas covered by thick sediments) are characterized by low abundance of manganese nodules. This relationship between distribution of sonar facies and manganese nodule abundance implies that (1) the qualitative difference in acoustic reflectivity of long-range side-scan sonar with some ground truth data is useful for regional assessment of manganese nodule occurrence over wide areas in a reasonable time, and (2) seafloor topography and sediment thickness are important controlling factors for regional occurrences of manganese nodules.