Bathymetry of the Tonga Trench and Forearc: a map series

Four new bathymetric maps of the Tonga Trench and forearc between 14 °S and 27 °S display the important morphologic and structural features of this dynamic convergent margin. The maps document a number of important geologic features of the margin. Major normal faults and fault lineaments on the Tonga platform can be traced along and across the upper trench slope. Numerous submarine canyons incised in the landward slope of the trench mark the pathways of sediment transport from the platform to mid- and lower-slope basins. Discontinuities in the trench axis and changes in the morphology of the landward slope can be clearly documented and may be associated with the passage and subduction of the Louisville Ridge and other structures on the subducting Pacific Plate. Changes in the morphology of the forearc as convergence changes from normal in the south to highly-oblique in the north are clearly documented. The bathymetric compilations, gridded at 500- and 200-m resolutions and extending along 500 km of the landward trench slope and axis, provide complete coverage of the outer forearc from the latitude of the Louisville Ridge-Tonga Trench collision to the northern terminus of the Tonga Ridge. These maps should serve as a valuable reference for other sea-going programs in the region, particularly the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) and the National Science Foundation MARGINS initiative.     

Dilemmas of development in Oceania: the political economy of the Tongan agro-export sector

This article critically engages with the recent diffusion of the orthodox development model in Oceania and highlights some evolving dilemmas. In particular, it explores the social, economic and ecological tensions arising from economic reforms that are exacerbating the fragility of already vulnerable nation-states and communities. In order to illustrate its arguments, a case study of the impacts of agro-export growth in Tonga is presented. Attention is drawn to the socially inequitable and ecologically unsustainable outcomes of rapid growth in this sector. In analyzing the political economy of the squash pumpkin sector, the authors point to the important role that culture plays in mediating and conditioning development outcomes. Reflecting on the Tongan case, it is argued that to better understand the implications of orthodox developmental reform in the region, research must seek to more explicitly incorporate distributional and ethical analysis.     

Perceptions of local community members towards foreign aid: A case study of Vava'u,Tonga

Foreign aid has arguably played a significant role in the economic development of the Pacific Island countries. Tonga is deemed to have succeeded in implementing the principles of the Paris Declaration of 2005, especially Ownership, Alignment and Harmonisation, by aid funding channelled through state institutions. Nevertheless, it is still unknown if the aid effect has reached civil society, and how community members perceive aid. This article examines the perceptions of community members towards foreign aid, using the case study of the archipelago of Vava'u, Tonga.     

2009年3月19日Mw7.6级汤加大地震的“震前扰动”现象

汶川大地震爆发后,作者在武汉大地测量国家野外科学观测站的重力仪资料中发现了震前约48小时的“重力扰动”现象、并在随后对全国数十个台站宽带地震仪资料的分析中得到了证实.2009年3月19日,太平洋岛国汤加海域爆发了M_w7.6级（里氏7.9级）大地震,宽带地震仪资料中再次出现了显著的、信号周期为4~8秒的“震前扰动”现象：从大地震前约16天的3月4日开始一直持续到地震发生.     

Management implications for the changing interactions between people and whales in Ha'apai, Tonga

Tongans have a long history of interaction with humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) ranging from imbuing whales with religious and cultural significance to commercial exploitation, originally through hunting and later through whale watching and swimming activities. Excessive commercial harvesting, mostly outside of Tongan waters, means that the number of humpback whales in the Oceania region remains low despite a ban on commercial harvesting since 1978. Concurrently, the opportunity for fee paying tourists to swim with this endangered population is a significant source of income for the Kingdom of Tonga. The Ha'apai island group has until recently experienced only a low density of whale focused tourism compared to the Vava'u island group, but it is showing signs of significant expansion. Photographs of the animals using the Ha'apai region identified a maximum of 331 unique individuals over the period 2006-2010, which generated 26 resightings of 22 individuals. In light of the low whale numbers and the industry expansion it is an appropriate time to implement a precautionary management system in the region. This is particularly important if, as suggested here, individual humpback whales are moving through all Tongan waters meaning management changes in one area impact on the entire population. Options to minimise the impact on these animals include limiting the number of licences issued for Ha'apai and zoning activities to ensure that there are areas closed to whale watching/swimming that can act as a refuge for the animals.     

Vegetation change in the coastal-lowland rainforest at Avai'o'vuna Swamp, Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga

Avai'o'vuna Swamp, a small coastal wetland in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga, produced a 4500-year pollen and sediment record. Results are: (1) a mid-Holocene sea level highstand is confirmed for Tonga between about 4500 and 2600 ¹⁴C yr B.P.; marine clay contains pollen from mangroves (Rhizophora mangle), coastal forest trees (Barringtonia asiatica and Cocos nucifera), and rainforest trees (Alphitonia, Rhus, Hedycarya and Calophyllum). (2) Microscopic charcoal first appeared at 2600 ¹⁴C yr B.P., coincident with the arrival of Polynesians. (3) Cocos, Pandanus, Excoecaria, Macaranga, and Elaeocarpaceae pollen reflects the establishment of a mixed coastal-lowland rainforest in the last 2500 years. (4) The loss of Hedycarya, Elaeocarpus, Calophyllum, and Guettarda and the reduction of Terminalia and taxa in the Papilionaceae family by about 1000 years ago may be due to habitat destruction and the loss of dispersal capabilities of some species through the extinction of the two largest pigeons in Tonga.     

西北太平洋和汤加俯冲地区深震特殊聚簇的特性及成因探究

对比研究了具有不同热参数、不同俯冲形态的西北太平洋俯冲地区和汤加俯冲地区的深震特殊聚簇的地震学特性和成因.利用单键群方法探测到两个特殊的深震聚簇G1N和G1T.聚簇G1N位于地震空区下方,具有极低的b值（~0.54）,完全不同于具有高b值（~1.04）的汤加俯冲地区聚簇G1T.通过对聚簇地区板块形态、地震主应力轴、地震深度分布特征的分析,以及和汤加典型的板片折曲处地震活动性的对比,我们认为深震聚簇G1N附近的板块表现出板片折曲的特征,板块俯冲到地幔过渡带底部受到下地幔的黏性阻力,板片局部向上凸起发生折曲,产生局部的拉张应力,叠加在俯冲造成的压缩构造背景上,应力状态发生改变,从而影响该深震聚簇的地震活动性.汤加地区G1T聚簇深震的成因则完全不同,没有体现出板片折曲、应力变化的特征;相反,这些深震发生在较冷的Vitiza-Fiji俯冲板块上,该板块在5~8 Ma年前先行俯冲到G1T区域并与Tonga板块发生拆离,G1T聚簇深震就发生在这些温度依然很低、滞留于~500 km深度处的高速板片残留体上.