Black River Research Articles

Investigating the Relationship between Public Satisfaction and Public Environmental Participation during Government Treatment of Urban Malodorous Black River in China

During China’s rapid economic development and urbanization, numerous cases of urban malodorous black river (MBR) have occurred. MBR refers to a polluted urban river that smells bad, is almost black in color, has no aquatic plants or animals, and that consequently causes many social and environmental problems. The Chinese government has sought public participation during the whole process of MBR treatment as part of a comprehensive action plan to improve residents’ satisfaction with their environment. To investigate the influencing factors of public participation and satisfaction, a questionnaire survey was conducted among residential communities close to an MBR. SPSS 22.0 was employed to conduct an analysis of the collected data, using factor analysis, correlation analysis, and linear regression analysis. The results indicate that there is a direct relationship between public satisfaction and the factors of government treatment, public perception and public participation behaviors, such as engagement behavior, supervision behavior, health influence, and compensation measures.

A collaborative effect of algae-bacteria symbiotic and biological activated carbon system on black odorous water pretreated by UV photolysis

In this study, UV photolysis was deemed as the pretreatment, degrading initially the black odorous water, and the algae-bacteria symbiotic system combined with biologically activated carbon (BAC) column technology was employed to degrade black odorous water. The addition of sodium acetate promoted the proliferation of microalgae and bacteria, enhancing the degradation effect of microorganisms. In the process of adsorption and biodegradation, BAC had a large specific surface area and pore structure, which was good for adsorbing macromolecular dissolved organic matter (DOM) and providing a nutrient environment for microorganisms. Mutant strain M1 could survive in the black odorous water after pretreatment, which was proved to have great application potential. In order to evaluate the optimal removal efficiency, an indoor-scale column study was performed using black odorous river sediment, activated carbon and algae-bacteria mixed solution. The results show that the combined treatment achieved a COD removal of 83 ± 1 %. The treated water could be used for green land irrigation and ecological water supplement. That played a major role in restoring the self-purification function of the ecosystem and improving the hypoxic environment of water bodies.

Morphological characteristics and changes of two meandering rivers in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

This study investigated bend morphology and dynamic changes of two highly convoluted meandering rivers, the Black River and the White River, in the Upper Yellow River Watershed of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), China. Using remotely sensed data, we characterized channel morphology and lateral changes of 290 meander bends in the two rivers. These bends exhibited extensive development of compound structures with each involving multiple sub-bends. Their migration patterns were dominated by extension, translation, and the combination of both, with the average migration rate higher in bends that changed by translation than that of bends by other modes. These morphological changes led to a longitudinal erosion-to-deposition pattern along the two studied rivers. Our analyses showed that the White River migrated much faster with more frequent cutoffs but fewer compound bends than the Black River, which may be attributed to the greater stream power of the former. We found a similar single-mode relationship between migration rate and bend curvature, commonly reported in previous studies, indicating that the largest migration rate occurred in bends with medium curvatures. This relationship, however, was altered to a quasi-monotonic inverse one when the average migration rates of bends were calculated for each class interval of bend curvatures, suggesting the complexity of bend morphodynamics. In general, the two studied meandering rivers migrated slower than many other meandering rivers worldwide, which allowed their bends to evolve into complex planform structures.

Preliminary study on the effect of Fenton oxidation on black odor river sediment

沉积物中有机质的削减是黑臭水体治理的关键.Fenton（Fe²⁺+H₂O₂）试剂在有机污染废水和土壤原位修复中的应用广泛且效果良好；Fenton试剂也能很好地去除黑臭水体中的色度和浊度，但其氧化沉积物有机质的研究未见报道.为探究Fenton试剂对黑臭水体沉积物的氧化效果，本研究通过室内模拟实验用Fenton氧化法对黑臭河道沉积物进行处理，考察氧化过程沉积物特征和性质的变化；分析覆水后沉积物中污染物的释放特征，并和H₂O₂体系（无Fe²⁺）进行比较.结果表明：Fenton体系显著提高了沉积物与上覆水的氧化还原电位，对黑臭河道沉积物中的有机质具有很强的氧化效率.在温度为28℃、H₂O₂为20% Q（Q为体系中沉积物有机质完全矿化的理论H₂O₂用量）和Fe²⁺：H₂O₂（摩尔比）为0.5：1时，反应1 d，酸挥发性硫化物去除率为70.13%，沉积物总有机碳减少了22.14%，总有机氮减少了87.60%，生成了较多的铵态氮和硝态氮；由于铁对磷的钝化，沉积物中溶解性反应磷含量大幅减少.H₂O₂体系的氧化速度较Fenton体系慢，覆水后对体系中的Eh提高不明显.值得注意的是，Fenton体系会降低上覆水的pH，释放较多的铵态氮.需要联合其他技术（如微生物法），强化水体中有机质和氨氮的降解，以取得理想的修复作用.;The reduction of organic matter in the sediment is key to solve the issue of black odor river. Fenton (Fe^{2 +} + H₂O₂) reagent is effectively in the treatment of organic contaminated water or soil. Fenton reagent has been also found to remove the coloration and turbidity of black odor water effectively. But the research on the treatment of organic matter in sediment by Fenton reagent has not been reported until now. In order to explore the oxidation effect of Fenton reagent on the sediment of black odor river, in this study, Fenton reagent was used to treat black odor river sediment. The changes of sediment characteristics were investigated during the oxidation process, also the release of pollutants from the sediment was analyzed. In addition, the treatment of the sediment by H₂O₂ system (without Fe^{2 +}) was compared with Fenton treatment. The results showed that under the condition of T=28℃, input (H₂O₂) =20%Q (Q is the theoretical dosage to mineralize completely organic carbon in sediment), the molar ratio of Fe²⁺ to H₂O₂=0.5∶1, the Fenton treatment significantly increased the redox potential of the sediment and overlying water, and had a strong oxidation efficiency for organic matter in black odor sediment. During Fenton treatment, the removal of acid volatile sulfide, total organic carbon, and total organic nitrogen were 70.13%, 22.14%, and 87.60%, respectively. A substantial amount of ammonium nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen were produced. Due to the presence of iron, the concentration of soluble reactive phosphorus in the sediment was greatly reduced. Compared to Fenton treatment, the oxidation rate of H₂O₂ system was slower, and the improvement of redox potential in the system was not obvious. The release of organic acids and ammonium nitrogen to the overlying water during the Fenton treatment should be paid attention to. It is suggested that the post-treatment of the overlying water, such as biological methods, should be used to obtain the ideal repair effect.

«Русские — скитальцы нашей эпохи»: воспоминания о детстве внучки Леонида Андреева

The article is a review of the childhood memories' book by Leonid Andreev's granddaughter O. Andreeva-Carlisle — the novella “An Island for Life,” first translated (by L. Shenderova-Fock) into Russian from English and French, the languages of the first publications. In the novel, the author recreates the five-year period (1939–1945) of her family's stay on the island of Oleron, occupied by the Nazis, reconstructs the “Russian world” of the diaspora, created by reading books, socializing with compatriots (G. Fedotov, M. Tsvetaeva, A. Remizov, etc.), and ardent interest in Russia. The review analyzes the genre of the book, which combines fidelity to fact with fictionalization of documentary material in the spirit of a girly story; it also reveals the “book code,” allowing the author to romanticize the narrative and present the events of the Resistance, in which the family was included, in an adventurous manner. It is demonstrated that the depicted events and the atmosphere in the village of Saint-Denis on the ocean coast are associated in the book with the artistic world of E.A. Poe, read aloud to the children by their father, Vadim, who lived as a child in Finland in a house on the Black River. The image of the author’s famous grandfather, the Russian writer Leonid Andreev, recreated from the stories, also merges with the notion of the American romantic Poe. The portrait of Leonid Andreev in the book appears mythologized, refracted by the prism of perception of his son Vadim and determined by the literary reputation of the writer himself.

Novel Reproductive Data on Pealip Redhorse, Moxostoma pisolabrum (Cypriniformes: Catostomidae), from Northeastern Arkansas

Little is known about the natural history of the Pealip Redhorse (Moxostoma pisolabrum), particularly on its reproductive biology in Arkansas. We examined 11 female M. pisolabrum collected in late February 2020 and 2021 from the Black River, Lawrence County. Egg mass (g) represented 9‒14% of the total weight of these gravid females. This is the first time information on female reproduction in this species has been reported from any population of M. pisolabrum in the state.

Dàgáárè (Central)

Dàgáárè /dàgááɹɪ̀/ (ISO 639-3) is a Mabia language (Bodomo 1997) of Niger-Congo family. It is spoken by about 1.5 million The map in Figure 1 shows the areas, in northwestern Ghana and southern Burkina Faso, where Dàgáárè is spoken predominantly. There are four broad dialects of Dàgáárè. These include Northern Dàgáárè [dàgàɹà], spoken in Lawra /lóɹáː/, Nandom /nàndɔ̀ː/ and Burkina Faso; Southern Dàgáárè /wáːlɪ́/, spoken around Kaleo /kàlèó/ and in Wa /wá/; Western Dàgáárè /bɪ̀ɹɪ̀fɔ̀/ spoken in Lassie /lààsɪ̀ɛ́/, Tuna /tʊ́ːnà/ and along the western side of the Black Volta river in Burkina Faso. The other dialect is Central Dàgáárè. These broad dialects are further divided into sub-dialects, as there are internal variations in these dialect groups (Bodomo 2000). This paper’s primary focus is on Central Dàgáárè, which comprises the varieties spoken in and around Jirapa /ʤɪ̀ɹɛ́bǎː/, Han /hɛ̌ŋ/, Ullo /úlò/, Daffiama /dàfɪ̀ɛ́mɛ́/, Nadowli /nàdòlí/, Charikpong /tʃɛ̀ɹɪ̀kpóŋ/, Sombo /sʊ̀mbɔ́/ and Duong /dùóŋ/.

Male lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) migratory and spawning behaviors are associated with sperm quality and reproductive success

Intra-annual reproductive investments may not be predictive of male reproductive success because of the effects of intra- and intersexual interactions on sperm depletion. For long-lived iteroparous fish species such as lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens), reproductive effort may affect lifetime reproductive success. Radio frequency identification antennas were placed at the mouth of the Upper Black River, Michigan, and downstream of spawning locations to quantify male migratory and mating behaviors, including upstream migration time (UT), river residence time (RT), number of intra-annual spawning migrations (IM), interannual spawning interval, and operational sex ratio during 2017–2018. Computer assisted sperm analysis was used to quantify sperm quality. RT had a strong negative influence on sperm concentration and with measures of sperm quality. RT and the number of females encountered were positively associated with male reproductive success (number of offspring sired) across years. RT, IM, and UT were negatively associated with sperm quality, indicating sperm depletion is a reliable measure of sexual activity. Results demonstrate trade-offs between benefits and costs associated with current reproductive effort on future reproduction.

Inter-comparison of lumped hydrological models in data-scarce watersheds using different precipitation forcing data sets: Case study of Northern Ontario, Canada

Study regionBig East River and Black River watersheds in Northern Ontario, Canada as snow-dominated, data-poor case studies. Study focusIn this study, seven lumped conceptual models were thoroughly compared in order to determine the best performing model for reproducing different components of the hydrograph, including low and high flows in data-poor catchments. All models were calibrated using five various objective functions for reducing the effects of calibration process on models’ performance. Additionally, the effects of precipitation, an important factor, particularly in data-scarce regions, were assessed by comparing two precipitation input scenarios: (1) low-density ground-based gauge data, and (2) the Canadian Precipitation Analysis (CaPA) data. The final goal of this study was to compare the effects of using either the Degree-Day or SNOW17 snowmelt estimation methods on the accuracy of streamflow simulation. New hydrological insightsThe results indicate that, in general, MACHBV is the best performing model at simulating daily streamflow in a data-poor watershed, and both SACSMA and GR4J can provide competitive results. Additionally, MACHBV and GR4J are superior to the other conceptual models regarding high flow simulation. Moreover, it was found that incorporating the more complex SNOW17 snowmelt estimation method did not always enhance the performance of the hydrologic models. Finally, the results also confirmed the reliability of the CaPA data as an alternative forcing precipitation in the case of low data availability.

Restoration of River Sediment by Calcium Peroxide(CaO2) Combined with Biochar

The internal source pollution of sediment is the main factor leading to the repetition of black-odorous river channels. In order to prevent this situation, a river channel in the Binhu District of Wuxi City was used as an experimental site. In-situ CaO2 combined with a biochar covering technology was used to repair the black odorous river sediment in this channel. The effects of this technology on the quality of mud water, sedimentary volatile sulfide (AVS) and phosphorus forms, microorganisms, and restoration of black odorous sediment were investigated. The results showed that CaO2 combined with biochar coverage could significantly increase the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration and redox potential (ORP) of the muddy water system. The DO concentration and ORP in the overlying water were maintained above 2 mg·L-1 and 50 mV, respectively. The removal rates of interstitial water ammonia-nitrogen (NH4+-N), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and total phosphorus (TP) reached 43.40%, 41.18%, and 50.97%, respectively. The removal rate of AVS in the sediment reached 37.03%. The high-throughput sequencing showed that the relative abundance of anaerobic microorganisms in the sediment was significantly reduced, and that nitrogen and sulfur removal microorganisms appeared (e.g., Thermomonas, Dechloromonas, Proteus hauser, Desulfomicrobium, and Thiobacillus). Phosphorus in the sediment was converted into Fe/Al-P and Ca-P. Therefore, in-situ CaO2 combined with biochar coverage had a good repairing effect on black odorous sediment.

Development of an environmental DNA metabarcoding assay for aquatic vascular plant communities

AbstractEnvironmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcodes allow for the simultaneous detection of multiple taxa if the barcode regions meet several key requirements including conserved primer‐binding sites, interspecific variability that exceeds intraspecific variability, and relatively short amplicons. Currently, there are no established metabarcoding assays for aquatic vascular plants, which could limit biodiversity assessments and the early detection of alien species. We used a combination of novel and pre‐existing primers to generate eDNA metabarcodes from three gene regions that are commonly used for plant barcoding: two regions of chloroplast DNA (rbcL and matK) plus a segment of an internal transcribed spacer (ITS2). We optimized the assay on a mock community of 25 known species and then applied it to wild samples collected from two waterbodies in southern Ontario, Canada (Black River and Seymour Lake). Our novel rbcL primers, which amplify a fragment of ~220 bp, provided the most comprehensive description of the mock community, identifying all but one of the taxa to species or genus. In addition, after pooling data from five sites within each sampled waterbody, metabarcodes generated by this same primer pair identified more taxa than all other primer pairs; more specifically, 20 and 26 taxa were identified from Black River and Seymour Lake, respectively, to species or genus. Across the two sites, nine of the identified taxa are alien invasive aquatic plants. Five of these invasive species have no previous reports from our sites, and in some cases have no known established Ontario populations; our data therefore suggest an urgent need to increase surveillance for these aliens. Overall, our study showed that eDNA metabarcoding with a novel rbcL primer pair provides a cost‐effective method for simultaneously detecting multiple aquatic vascular plant taxa and is a valuable tool for the early detection of invasive species.

Tracing nutrient pollution from industrialized animal production in a large coastal watershed.

One of the highest concentrations of swine and poultry concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in North America is located on the Coastal Plain of North Carolina, in which the Cape Fear River basin is located. The CAFOs produce vast amounts of manure causing loading of nutrients and other pollutants to receiving waters. With the Cape Fear River basin vulnerable to nutrient pollution, as are many other watersheds with CAFOs, δ13C and δ15N stable isotopic signatures were identified from water samples collected within the Northeast Cape Fear, Black, and lower Cape Fear River watersheds to trace nutrient sources and their distribution downstream. The spatial and temporal variability of nutrients and isotopic signatures were also identified to understand water quality impacts of animal waste spraying season and proximity to CAFOs. Our results showed that significantly enriched δ15N signatures characterized sites in close proximity to CAFOs as well as point-source wastewater discharge areas, while the opposite was true for an unimpacted control stream and two estuarine sites. Additionally, the impacted sites yielded significantly (p < 0.05) higher nitrate concentrations than control and estuarine sites. Statistical analyses demonstrated that nitrate concentrations were positively correlated with heavier δ15N signatures, suggesting that animal waste, as well as human wastewater, are relatively more important sources of N to this large watershed than fertilizers from traditional row crop agriculture. Our results also suggested that during appropriate hydrological conditions CAFO-derived N can be detected many kilometers downstream from freshwater sources areas to the estuary.

New Cryogenian, Neoproterozoic, and middle Paleozoic U–Pb zircon ages from the Caledonia terrane, southern New Brunswick, Canada: better constrained but more complex volcanic stratigraphy

New U–Pb zircon ages from volcanic, plutonic, and sedimentary units in the Avalonian Caledonia terrane of southern New Brunswick provide better timing constraints in this geologically complex area. Previous ca. 620 Ma ages from the Broad River Group are now corroborated by additional dates from felsic tuff in the Gordon Falls Formation and rhyolite in the former Fairfield (now East Branch Black River) Formation of 620 ± 5 Ma and 622 ± 1.9 Ma, respectively. Combined with ages ranging from ca. 625 Ma to 615 Ma from crosscutting plutons, the data suggest that the minimum age of the Broad River Group is about 615 Ma. A quartzfeldspar porphyry dyke in mafic volcanic rocks of the previously undated Long Beach Formation yielded an igneous crystallization age of 685 ± 10 Ma, the oldest unit yet dated in the Caledonia terrane but similar in age to porphyry in the Stirling belt in the Avalonian Mira terrane of Nova Scotia. The age of the Coldbrook Group was constrained previously by U–Pb (zircon) ages of volcanic rocks between 560 and 550 Ma as well as by similar ages from comagmatic plutons. Five additional samples from both volcanic and plutonic units lie in the same range of 560–550 Ma, including errors, demonstrating that the Coldbrook Group and related plutons formed in less than 10 million years. Such a large volume of mainly felsic magma erupted and emplaced in a short time span suggests a “supereruption/supervolcano” environment such as the late Cenozoic southwestern USA but not yet recognized at ca. 560–550 Ma elsewhere in Avalonia. Two units yielded Paleozoic ages: felsite of the Bloomsbury Mountain Formation with a zircon population at 427 ± 9 Ma, indicating a Silurian maximum emplacement age, and dacite of the Grassy Lake Formation with several zircon grains at 382.8 ± 8.3 Ma, indicating a maximum age of middle Devonian, the first rocks of this age to be identified in the Caledonia terrane.

Aragonite depositional facies in a Late Ordovician calcite sea, Eastern Laurentia

AbstractThe Black River (Upper Ordovician – Sandbian) and Trenton (Upper Ordovician – Katian) groups are traditionally interpreted as a deepening‐upward succession deposited in a progressively subsiding Appalachian Basin margin that contained warm‐water, marine, photozoan deposits that pass upward into cool‐water, marine, heterozoan carbonates. This succession is customarily interpreted to reflect an incursion of cold, high‐latitude ocean waters into the area. This view is herein confirmed for coeval carbonates in the northern part of the basin, particularly the St. Lawrence Platform. They are now well explained in this study on the basis of recent studies of cool‐water carbonates and calcite–aragonite seas. Overall the succession is one of Sandbian photozoan ramp deposits succeeded by Katian heterozoan ramp carbonates that changed back to photozoan ramp deposits prior to the Hirnantian glaciation. The current interpretation, that deposition took place throughout a calcite sea time, seems at odds with this series of strata. Instead it is herein proposed that deposition took place during an aragonite sea time wherein calcite sea‐like sediments accumulated under cold ocean‐water temperatures. Such an interpretation is supported by recent experimental data that supports the importance of seawater temperature on CaCO3 polymorph precipitation. If correct, this means that some of the evidence for calcite sea deposition through time brought about by global tectonics, should be re‐evaluated to make sure it was not simply cool‐water carbonate production.

Satellite-derived river width and its spatiotemporal patterns in China during 1990–2015

Rivers are essential to the Earth's ecosystem, but the current understanding of river width variability is limited, owing to the sparse distribution of gauging stations. Remote sensing data enable the surveying and analysis of river geomorphology by providing multi-temporal Earth observation data from satellites at fine spatial and temporal resolutions. We proposed an optimized RivWidth method to automatically calculate width for all channels in a water map and parallelized it to produce the Multi-temporal China River Width (MCRW) dataset, which is the first 30-m multi-temporal river width dataset for China during 1990–2015, including estimates under both seasonal fluctuations and dynamic inundation frequencies. The MCRW dataset is made up of 1.3 × 108 seasonal estimates of river width, and covers 1.4 × 105 km of rivers in China. We validated the MCRW dataset against in-situ measurements. The MCRW estimates at maximum water extent showed a satisfactory accuracy of 15.0% and 15.2% for the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and the relative root-mean-square error (RRMSE), respectively. The MCRW dataset was further compared with the current state-of-the-art global product, the Global River Widths from Landsat (GRWL) dataset, which demonstrated the superiority of the MCRW in describing the basins of China. Our analysis indicated that the mean river widths of China in both summer and winter have increased over the past 25 years, and river width of the Yangtze River mainstream in the lower drainage region has shown a downward trend while the its middle reaches and tributaries (upstream of the Three Gorges Dam) have shown an upward trend. We also developed a locally adaptive search method to quantify seasonal (summer and winter) river width variability. The results revealed that most of the rivers were wider in summer during the study period, and mainstream of Yangtze River in middle/lower region exhibited less seasonal variability than its tributaries. Larger widths were observed in the middle reaches of the Yellow River and the upper reaches of the Black River in winter due to ice-jam floods. Overall, the generated MCRW dataset has the potential to serve as a fundamental resource in Earth system science, and could provide valuable support to surface water resource and riverine management.

Properties of carbon particles in archeological and natural Amazon rainforest soils

Driving practices of Amazon native inhabitants are an example of positive feedback in carbon storage acting as a key element in soil fertility and stability. The anthropogenic Amazonian Terra Preta do Índio (Indian Dark Earth) soils are rich in pyrogenic black carbon and the Rio Negro (Black River) also exhibits plentiful apparently similar black-carbon particles. In this context, we characterized the structural, morphological and elemental properties of the long-lived stable carbon-based structures present in sediments of the Amazonian Rio Negro and in two Terra Preta do Índio soils from two different geographic regions. Optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy techniques are utilized. The structural analysis displayed that these carbon structures exhibit similar nanocrystallite structures, despite their different geographic location and environment. The Terra Preta do Índio-carbons are however, more defective and the quantitative elemental analyzes indicate they have greater variety of nutrients, such as P and Ca, than Rio Negro sediment-carbons.

Integrative taxonomy reveals three new taxa within the Tylototriton asperrimus complex (Caudata, Salamandridae) from Vietnam.

The Tylototriton asperrimus complex from northern Vietnam is reviewed based on morphological comparisons and analysis of the mitochondrial marker NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2). Based on molecular divergences, which were revealed to be higher than in other congeners, in concert with morphological differences, two new species and one subspecies are described herein: Tylototriton pasmansisp. nov. differs from T. asperrimussensu stricto by 3.2 to 3.6 % genetic divergence and a combination of distinct morphological characters, such as head slightly longer than wide, distinct mid-dorsal ridge, relatively wide distance between the eyes, tips of fingers reaching the eye when foreleg is laid forward, labial and gular folds present, central belly skin with tubercles shaped like transverse wrinkles and distinct, pointy to round rib nodules. The population of T. pasmansisp. nov. consists of two subclades, the nominotypic one occurring on the eastern side of the Da River (or Black River, including Hoa Binh and Phu Tho provinces), and another occurring on the western side (including Son La and Thanh Hoa provinces). These two subclades differ by 2.5 to 3.1 % genetic divergence and distinct morphological characters. The western subclade is herein described as Tylototriton pasmansi obstissp. nov., which differs from the nominotypic form by a wider head, longer and narrower snout, shorter femur length, and an overall less granulose skin, without an increased concentration of warts on the body sides.A second new species, Tylototriton sparreboomisp. nov. is described from Lai Chau Province. It differs from T. asperrimussensu stricto by 4.1 to 4.2 % and from Tylototriton pasmansisp. nov. by 3.6 to 4.5 % genetic divergences as well as by a combination of distinct morphological characters, such as head longer than wide, tips of fingers reaching nostril when foreleg adpressed along head, rib nodules distinct, round and relatively enlarged, and wide distance between the eyes.

Late Ordovician brachiopods from east-central Alaska, northwestern margin of Laurentia

AbstractA Late Ordovician brachiopod fauna from the Black River quadrangle (D-1 1:63,360 scale) of east-central Alaska comprises taxa typical of the Late Ordovician brachiopod fauna in the pericratonic epeiric seas of Laurentia, includingHesperorthis pyramidalis(Twenhofel, 1928),Plaesiomys occidentalis(Okulitch, 1943),Eoplectodontasp.,Holtehdalinasp.,Leptaenasp.,Brevilamnulella minutan. sp.,Tcherskidium tenuicostatumn. sp.,Rhynchotrema iowenseWang, 1949, andWhitfieldellasp. The presence ofPlaesiomys occidentalisandTcherskidium tenuicostatan. sp. indicates a latest Katian age by correlation with similar species in the Mackenzie Mountains, southern Manitoba, Anticosti Island, the American midcontinent, Kolyma, and Siberia. Cluster analysis based on 20 well-studied late Katian brachiopod faunas from various regions within Laurentia and elsewhere in other tectonic plates suggests that the small brachiopod faunule from Alaska has the strongest paleobiogeographic affinity with Laurentia, confirming that the Black River quadrangle of Alaska was part of Laurentia during the Late Ordovician.UUID:http://zoobank.org/6b387856-61d5-4685-a592-faf5287c1e0f

Robert Ervin Howard’s Vision of the Supernatural in Beyond the Black River

The plot and the presented world of Robert Ervin Howard’s Beyond the Black River are representative of sword and sorcery, a subgenre of fantasy fiction that Howard is claimed to have pioneered. It has been proposed that the worlds in fantasy fiction are coherently organised, natural, and material. Nevertheless, supernatural elements that are not consis-tent with the structure of the universe are present. The struggle between the structured worlds and the chaotic supernatural that is resolved by an intervention of a barbarian hero constitute the essence of the sword and sorcery subgenre. These elements can also be found in Beyond the Black River by Howard, who employs contrastive images to present the super-natural.

Мифологический контекст народной этимологии: гидронимы и оронимы в несказочной прозе хакасов

The author analyzes the main types of plots of toponymic legends that have become wide-spread among the Khakass people and are of artistic and historical value. The toponymic space of the Khakass non-fairy prose is considered for the first time. Of particular interest are the toponymic legends about rivers and lakes. The toponymic legends about the mountains are no less diverse in their composition. Stories explaining the origin of the names of various ob-jects in the area play a significant role in the non-fairy prose. The research is based on the ma-terial of the volume “Khakas non-fairy prose” of the academic series “Monuments of Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East” (2016). The study has identified the genre, textological and linguistic features of toponymic legends. Toponyms reflect the geographical features of the area. The legends contain terms reflecting flora and fauna of the steppe area and the rich world of nature. The image plays an important role in characterizing the topo-nyms and distinguishing between natural objects (the rivers Кim “Yenisei,” Agban “Abakan,” Ah Uus “White River,” Khara Uus “Black River,” Saraa adai kol “Lake of the Yellow Dog”). Toponyms can also include numbers with a specific meaning. Toponymic legends are consid-ered to be one of the most important sources for studying the material and spiritual culture of the people. Folklore toponyms are extremely rich and unique material, which can be used to investigate the toponymic system of the non-fairy prose of the Khakass people.