Hill Site Research Articles

Estimation of CO2 effluxes from suburban forest floor and grass using a process-based model

Carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas, and its atmospheric concentration has been predicted to increase in the future. The objective of this study was to quantify the soil CO2 efflux in a suburban area including mixed deciduous forest and grass by numerically modeling the CO2 transport through the soil profile. Three stations per land-cover (forest and grass) were selected at the Cub Hill site (MD, USA), where the US Forest Service operates an urban flux tower. Six VAISALA CO2 sensors (Vaisala Inc., Finland) per monitoring station were horizontally installed at 6 different depths (soil surface, 0.02, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, and 0.30 m from the soil surface) in the mid of May, 2011. Temperature and volumetric soil moisture measurements were taken using thermistors and EC-5 sensors (Decagon devices, Pullman, WA, USA) that were installed at the same depths as the CO2 sensors except for the soil surface. These data were recorded every 10 min. To evaluate the numerical model (SOILCO2), CO2 efflux using the standard chamber method was measured once a week. The CO2 effluxes from the standard chamber method ranged from 3.32 × 10−9 to 7.28 × 10−8 m3 m−2 s−1 and 6.79 × 10−9 to 1.45 × 10−7 m3 m−2 s−1 for forest and grass, respectively. The CO2 effluxes from “bare” soil at the grass site varied with the range of 3.63 × 10−8 to 9.37 × 10−8 m3 m−2 s−1. The “pulse effect” (a rapid increase of CO2 concentrations right after rainfall events) in grass, where changes in soil moisture were larger than in the forest, was more apparent than in the forest. Diurnal patterns similar to those of temperature were observed from CO2 profiles in soils. The SOILCO2 model estimated the soil CO2 effluxes with coefficients of correlation of 0.64 and 0.76 at forest and grass, respectively, and root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.58 × 10−8 and 2.06 × 10−8 m3 m−2 s−1 for forest and grass, respectively. This study suggests that the SOILCO2 model can provide a better understanding of the contribution of the soil ecosystem to the carbon cycle in suburban environments including mixed deciduous forest and grass.

Human Error Causes in Slope Engineering Practices

Landslide/slope failures have been accounted, as the second natural disaster for Malaysia after flood.From the landslides investigations reports, it is shown that landslides in Malaysia were caused mainly by factors like lack of maintenance, less coordination during construction stage and design problem apart from rainfall. The slant of this study facilitated multidisciplinary perceptions regarding human error causes in existing practices to be captured. This approach has the worth to offer the usefulness of progressive actions that are taken to strengthen the slopes. Conducting the surveys with focussed group respondents, could provide benchmarking to gauge any change in influences and resource use as efforts are made to advance the consideration of slope stability in hill site developments.

A large, anatomically primitive tristichopterid (Sarcopterygii: Tetrapodomorpha) from the Late Devonian (Frasnian) Alves Beds, Upper Old Red Sandstone, Moray, Scotland

Synopsis A nearly complete mandible of a large tetrapodomorph sarcopterygian from the Frasnian Alves Beds is studied with the aid of computed tomography. The absence of cosmine, a small parasymphysial dental plate bearing dentition that is discontinuous with that of the coronoids, and the presence of an elongated posterior coronoid that bears two fang pairs restrict placement of the tetrapodomorph from the Alves Beds to Tristichopteridae, and suggest that is a member of the clade that is sister to the anatomically primitive Givetian genus Tristichopterus . Taxa from this segment of tristichopterid phylogeny include the Givetian–Frasnian Eusthenopteron and Frasnian Jarvikina , but the tristichopterid from the Alves Beds is distinguished from both by the presence of an organized row of well-developed teeth on the posterior coronoid. This character has been proposed as a synapomorphy of taxa crownward of Trischopteridae, but is widely distributed among tetrapodomorph fishes. Our reinterpretation of lower jaw material of Tinirau clackae suggests this species is a member of the Tristichopteridae rather than the ‘Elpistostegalia’, and likely includes material assigned to a second species and genus of tetrapodomorph from the Red Hill site, Bruehnopteron murphyi . Proposal of a formal taxonomic name for the tristichopterid from the Alves Beds is withheld pending the discovery or analysis of further material from these deposits.

Drought and Ecological Site Interaction on Plant Composition of a Semi-Arid Rangeland

Fluctuating climatic patterns are increasing the frequency and severity of drought, a concern for native plant communities on grazed semi-arid rangelands. Vegetation successional models have focused on the impact of management and have failed to quantify the effects of extreme drought. From 2001 to 2011, plant community composition was sampled on ecological sites in a semi-arid rangeland managed with conservative grazing and frequent fire since 1937. Ordination and classification were used to assess the interactive effects of ecological site and extreme drought on plant species composition, holding all other external drivers constant. Deeper soil clay loam sites had 4x greater beta diversity than shallower and rockier low stony hill sites, an indication of greater species turnover and instability in response to extreme drought. Cumulative effects of drought years explained similarity between sites and species composition. Response to extreme drought varied by species; no response (Bouteloua curtipendula), decreased (Nassella leucotricha), and increased (Bouteloua rigidiseta and Eriochloa sericea). Annual C3 plant responses were explained by short-term drought and perennial C3 and C4 plant responses were explained by long-term drought. Clay loam sites had maximum species richness and diversity values during neutral periods with quadratic declines associated with climatic extremes (dry or wet) compared to the more xeric sites which had minimum species richness and diversity during neutral periods with quadratic increases during climatic extremes. The interaction between site and drought, holding all other external drivers constant, can enhance our understanding of plant community dynamics and secondary plant succession of degraded semi-arid rangelands.

Necropola din secolul XII de la Sighişoara-Dealul Viilor, punctul „Necropolă”.Contribuții privind habitatulepocii medievale timpurii în Transilvania estică / The 12th century’s cemetery from Sighişoara-Dealul Viilor, place‘Necropolă’. Contribution Concerning the Habitat From the Early Middle Age in Eastern Transylvania / Das Gräberfeld des 12. Jhs. von Sighişoara-Dealul Viilor, Fundstelle „Gräberfeld” („Necropolă”). Beiträge zummittelalterlichen Habitat aus Ostsiebenbürgen (12. – 13. Jhs.)

Necropola din secolul XII de la Sighişoara-Dealul Viilor, punctul „Necropolă”.Contribuții privind habitatulepocii medievale timpurii în Transilvania estică / The 12th century’s cemetery from Sighişoara-Dealul Viilor, place‘Necropolă’. Contribution Concerning the Habitat From the Early Middle Age in Eastern Transylvania / Das Gräberfeld des 12. Jhs. von Sighişoara-Dealul Viilor, Fundstelle „Gräberfeld” („Necropolă”). Beiträge zummittelalterlichen Habitat aus Ostsiebenbürgen (12. – 13. Jhs.)

Caddo Ceramic Vessels from the Sipes Hill Site (41RK602) along Martin Creek in the Sabine River Basin in East Texas

The Sipes Hill site (41RK602) is an ancestral Caddo site on Martin Creek, near Trammel's Trace, about 20 km from its confluence with the Sabine River. It is ca. 2 km downstream from the Martin Lake dam. The Sipes' Home site (41RK603) is about 100m to the northeast. This site was found and investigated by Buddy C. Jones in the 1950s or early 1960s. He did an unknown amount of excavations at the site, and ended up excavating at least one Caddo burial at the site; there are no available notes concerning these excavations or the burial feature, however. Whole vessels from the Sipes Hill site in the Jones collection are at the Gregg County Historical Museum.

The Lizzie Hill Site (41CP494), Camp County, Texas

The Lizzie Hill site (41CP494) is one of a number of archaeological sites that Robert L. Turner, Jr. surface collected from in Camp County, Texas in the 1950s and 1960s. Bo Nelson and Turner formally recorded the site in July 2012. The analysis of the surface collection of ceramic and lithic artifacts from the site, as well as a few historic artifacts, is the subject of this article. The site was located in a cultivated field when Turner found it and gathered his collection of artifacts, but now is in pasture, along a small tributary to Walkers Creek in the Big Cypress Creek basin. The site is estimated to cover a ca. 160 x 80 m area (ca. 3 acres) on an upland slope (360-380 ft. amsl).

A form diagram to optimise pruning schedules for eucalypt clear-wood production

SummaryBranch pruning is necessary to produce high-value wood products from eucalypt plantations. Four requirements of an effective and efficient pruning regime for clear-wood production are to (a) restrict the pruned-stem diameter to a specified maximum, (b) ensure only green branches are pruned, (c) remove a proportion of the green crown that allows for continued competitiveness of the pruned trees and (d) minimise the number of pruning interventions. In this paper, we present a pruning decision support tool that diagrammatically combines results from growing stands and crown reduction trials. Elements depicting the pruning schedule, target maximum pruned diameter (PDmax), lower height of the green crown (GCLH) and target retained proportion of the green crown (GCRP) are overlaid onto a set of stem-taper curves. The form diagram was demonstrated using data from two adjacent commercial plantations of Eucalyptus pellita (‘Caravan Hill’ and ‘Fishtail’), established in the same planting season, for solid-wood production in northern Queensland, Australia. We fitted a cubic tree taper model that described 89% of the variation in stem diameter at a given height. PDmax was set at 12 cm and GCRP was set at 50%. Pruned height was set at 6 m assuming two lifts.Site differences in E. pellita growth, slenderness and green-crown height resulted in different optimum pruning schedules even on adjacent holdings. Within-stand heterogeneity in slenderness and green-crown height contributed further to the complexity of pruning scheduling. Our results suggest that it would have been necessary to complete the Fishtail site pruning program at the commencement of the second dry season after planting to ensure that the pruned height was always greater than GCLH. On the other hand, the first pruning lift could be conducted at the Caravan Hill site at the same time that the second lift was being completed at Fishtail. Management options that increase the height growth in the first year, promote live crown retention and increase within-stand homogeneity will improve the effectiveness of fixed-lift pruning for eucalypt clear-wood production.

Late Pleistocene and early Holocene change in the Weddell Sea: a new climate record from the Patriot Hills, Ellsworth Mountains, West Antarctica

ABSTRACTThe transition from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene (30 000–5000 years ago) was a period of considerable climate variability, which has been associated with changes in deep water formation and the intensity of the Meridional Overturning Circulation. Although numerous records exist across the North Atlantic region, few Antarctic ice core records have been obtained from the south. Here we exploit the potential of upwelling ancient ice – so‐called blue ice areas (BIAs) – from the Patriot Hills in the Ellsworth Mountains to derive the first deuterium isotope record (δD) from continental Antarctica south of the Weddell Sea. Gas analysis and glaciological considerations provide a first relative chronology. Inferred temperature trends from the Patriot Hills BIA and snow pit suggest changing climate influences during the transition between the last glacial period and Holocene. Under modern conditions, the interplay between the Antarctic high‐pressure system and the Southern Annular Mode appears to play a significant role in controlling katabatic wind flow over the site while the BIA record suggests that greater sea ice extent during the last glacial period was a major control. Our results demonstrate the considerable potential of the Patriot Hills site for reconstructing past climate change in the south Atlantic region.

Carbon storage in peatlands: A case study on the Isle of Man

Peatlands contain about one third of the World's terrestrial carbon (C). Due to their increasing importance in the context of climate change various studies estimated regional and global carbon stocks. The greatest uncertainty in current C stock estimates is peat depth. Information on peat depth is often lacking or spatially variable, which both limit the accuracy of C stock estimates. We present measurements of peat depth on the Isle of Man and evaluate the C sink of the region. We assess the degree to which estimates of Sphagnum cover can be used to predict peat depth and we identify and quantify various uncertainties in resulting C stock estimates. Total peatland area was identified through classification of aerial photography. Peat depth and Sphagnum cover were measured on a 50m grid at four study sites in the southern hills on the Isle of Man.Peatlands at the study sites were generally shallow with low total organic carbon (TOC) contents. Peat depth seemed not to be controlled by local terrain. It is estimated that the C stored per unit area ranges from 14.7 to 22.4kgCm−2. The results provided in this study were significantly lower than in other studies, which is likely due to the land use history. The large spatial variability of peat depth resulted in large uncertainty in C stock estimates. Sphagnum proved to be important for the formation of deep peat and could potentially be used to assess the quality of peatlands. Results suggest that peatlands on the Isle of Man will likely act as a C source in the long-term if not maintained and/or restored.

Paleobotany and paleoecology of Gao Mine, a late Paleocene fossil locality near Red Deer, Alberta, Canada

In addition to having a rich assemblage of mammalian fossils, the Gao Mine locality in the Paskapoo Formation of south-central Alberta has yielded numerous plant specimens of late Paleocene (late Tiffanian or Ti5) age. The plant fossils are preserved in siltstones and fine-grained sandstones interpreted as overbank sediments that were deposited on an aggrading floodplain. The assemblage is dominated by the cupressaceous conifer Metasequoia foxii and the cercidiphyllaceous dicot Joffrea speirsiae, including their well-preserved seedlings. The flora also contains foliage of the ferns Onoclea and Speirseopteris and the woody dicots Palaeocarpinus, Aphananthe/Celtis, Aesculus, Beringiaphyllum, ?Trochodendron, and Wardiaphyllum, as well as seedlings of unknown dicotyledonous angiosperms. Metasequoia foxii and Speirseopteris are unique to the floras of Gao Mine and the nearby Munce’s Hill site (Tiffanian Ti4). The remainder of the taxa are common in late Paleocene floras of North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming, all USA. The floras of the nearby Joffre Bridge Roadcut and Blindman River sites (both Tiffanian Ti3) are more diverse, but both of those sites encompass a wider range of depositional environments and may include higher percentages of allochthonous material. Most of the Gao Mine material is autochthonous. The seedlings were buried in place, along with the surrounding leaf litter, preserving a record of the local plant community.

Adsorption and absorption of boron, nitrogen, aluminum, and phosphorus on silicene: Stability and electronic and phonon properties

Ab initio calculations within the density-functional theory formalism are performed to investigate the chemical functionalization of a graphene-like monolayer of silicon - silicene - with B, N, Al or P atoms. The structural, electronic, magnetic and vibrational properties are reported. The most preferable adsorption sites are found to be valley, bridge, valley and hill site for B, N, Al and P adatoms, respectively. All the relaxed systems with adsorbed/substituted atoms exhibit metallic behaviour with strongly bonded B, N, Al, and P atoms accompanied by an appreciable electron transfer from silicene to the B, N and P adatom/substituent. The Al atoms exhibit opposite charge transfer, with n-type doping of silicene and weaker bonding. The adatoms/substituents induce characteristic branches in the phonon spectrum of silicene, which can be probed by Raman measurements. Using molecular dynamics we found that the systems under study are stable up to at least T = 500 K. Our results demonstrate that silicene has a very reactive and functionalizable surface.

DISAPPEARING HOMING PIGEON MYSTERY SOLVED

Homing pigeons are usually remarkably efficient navigators; however, on rare occasions, things go drastically wrong. So, when Jon Hagstrum of the US Geological Survey (USGS) read in his local newspaper about two races during which pigeons had been lost in 1998, he was reminded of a lecture by Bill Keeton that he had heard years before as an undergraduate at Cornell University. Keeton had been studying how birds successfully navigated from distant and unfamiliar release sites. However, the birds almost always had problems selecting the correct bearing home when released from three local sites. According to Keeton, pigeons released at Castor Hill and the town of Weedsport consistently took the same wrong turn when they departed. Meanwhile, birds that were released from Jersey Hill tended to head off in random directions, but with one exception: all of the birds that departed from the hill on 13 August 1969 returned home successfully, having taken the correct bearing. Explaining that Keeton had already ruled out the possibility of a disturbance in the local magnetic field, Hagstrum recalls, ‘Bill asked if we geologists had an idea what might be going on at these sites.’Several years after Keeton’s lecture, Hagstrum came up with a possible solution to the problem when he read that pigeons can hear incredibly low frequency ‘infrasound’. Explaining that infrasound – which can be generated by minute vibrations of the planet surface caused by waves deep in the ocean – travels for thousands of kilometres, Hagstrum wondered whether homing pigeons are listening for the distinctive low-frequency rumble of their loft area to find their bearing home. In which case, birds that could not hear the infrasound signal, because the release site was shielded from it in some way, could not get their bearing and would get lost. Hagstrum decided to investigate the meteorological conditions on the days of unsuccessful releases to find out if there was something in the air that could explain the pigeons’ disorientation (p. 687).Fortunately, Hagstrum had access to accurate temperature, wind direction and speed measurements taken at local weather stations on the days of the releases so that he could reconstruct the atmospheric conditions. Having successfully installed a complex acoustics program – HARPA – with the help of USGS computer scientist Larry Baker to reconstruct the atmospheric conditions, Hagstrum then calculated how infrasound travelled from the loft through the atmosphere, refracting through layers in the air and bouncing off the ground, to find out if Jersey Hill was shaded from the loft’s infrasound homing beacon and how the signal from the loft was channelled by the wind and local terrain to Castor Hill and Weedsport.Amazingly, on all of the days when the birds vanished from Jersey Hill, Hagstrum could see that the loft’s infrasonic signal was guided away from the ground and high into the atmosphere: the birds could not pick it up. However, on 13 August 1969, the atmospheric conditions were perfect and this time the infrasonic signal was guided directly to the Jersey Hill site. And when he calculated the paths that the loft’s infrasonic signal travelled to Castor Hill and Weedsport they also explained why the birds consistently took the wrong bearing. The terrain and winds had diverted the infrasound so that it approached the release site from the wrong direction, sending the birds off on the wrong bearing.Explaining that the birds must use the loft’s infrasonic homing beacon to get their bearing before setting the direction for their return flight according to their sun compass, Hagstrum says, ‘I am a bit surprised that after 36 years I finally answered Bill Keeton’s question to the Cornell Geology Department’, adding that he is particularly pleased that he was able to use Keeton’s own data to solve the mystery.

Snow Hill: In the Shadows of Ephrata Cloister

As a native of Franklin County, Pennsylvania, I read Denise Seachrist's Snow Hill with great interest. I was surprised to discover a part of my home county's history that I had never known. Snow Hill combines two fascinating stories: the history of the Snow Hill Cloister and congregation and the narrative of the author's research and fieldwork at the Snow Hill site during the 1990s.Snow Hill provides a general overview of the history and music of the Snow Hill Cloister and congregation throughout the nineteenth century, particularly during its peak period in the early part of the century. Seachrist demonstrates the ways in which Snow Hill served as a branch of the more famous Ephrata Cloister in nearby Lancaster County while illuminating the differences between the two cloisters as well. While the brothers and sisters of Snow Hill shared doctrines, particularly the insistence on adult baptism, foot washing, and the Love Feast, and even ministers with Ephrata, they also focused more on economic activities, adopted a less rigid organization, and remained more isolated from the outside world than their counterparts at Ephrata. Most important, Snow Hill continued the unique tradition of music and harmony begun by Georg Beissel at Ephrata in the eighteenth century, although the main composer at Snow Hill, Obed Snowberger, added a few distinctive touches of his own. Finally, Seachrist documents the tragedy of Snow Hill's gradual demise during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries as its membership dwindled and the remaining members became embroiled in legal battles over the cloister's property.Interspersed with this history of Snow Hill, Seachrist tells a more poignant story of the professional and personal friendships she formed with the people who have preserved the history and beliefs of Snow Hill into the twenty-first century. The author is the first scholar to gain access to the grounds, buildings, and manuscript archives of the Snow Hill Cloister. In a series of vignettes, the reader meets a cast of fascinating characters who for the past several decades have struggled to keep the legacy of Snow Hill alive. The most moving story is the development of the friendship between the author and George Wingert, the caretaker and protector of the Snow Hill property. The description of the growing friendship between the young, urban academic from Kent State and the elderly recluse from rural Franklin County is the thread that ties the book together. As the person who grants and oversees Seachrist's access to the cloister's records, Wingert symbolizes the author's link to Snow Hill's past; at the same time, Seachrist's conversations with Wingert while conducting her research reveal the devotion and sincerity of the congregants in the present day. Unfortunately, the more recent stories also end in misfortune, as the author describes the squabbles among the remaining small group of dedicated Snow Hill congregants that led to the auctioning off of the cloister's material possessions in 1997 and Wingert's removal as caretaker of the grounds two years later.Snow Hill is not intended to be an exhaustive examination of the cloister's place in nineteenth-century American history. Instead, the book is designed to tell the story of Snow Hill—the people and the place—then and now. Scholars seeking a deep analysis of the beliefs and actions of the congregation in the context of other early nineteenth-century utopian and religious communities will have to await future studies of Snow Hill. Readers searching for a heartwarming yet heartbreaking story of the people who have struggled to preserve the ideals and legacy of Snow Hill for two centuries, however, will be richly rewarded. What the book lacks in analysis, it more than makes up for in narrative and warmth. Seachrist has successfully combined an introduction to Snow Hill's history and music with a fascinating human drama filled with engaging characters and emotions set in both the past and the present. Indeed, the author's realization of the importance of the human dimension of history, both in the past itself and in the efforts of people in the present to preserve the legacy of the past, could be a model for other young scholars in many academic disciplines.In the end, Seachrist's greatest contribution is more than simply introducing the world to a little-known segment of Pennsylvania's history. She has helped to preserve the written and musical records of Snow Hill by facilitating their placement in the Special Collections Archive at Juniata College, and she has preserved the memory of George Wingert and others who have cared for Snow Hill for so long. Through Seachrist's efforts, the legacy of Snow Hill and George Wingert will live on.

Moodie and Evans Respond

Despite the charges by Stifelman et al., nowhere do we claim that blood lead levels (BLLs) were used as the sole criterion for cleanup actions at Bunker Hill. Rather, we argue that insofar as BLLs were one of the Remedial Action Objectives (RAOs) specified in the Record of Decision (ROD), this criterion was neither protective nor proactive in reducing risk. The threshold of concern (10 μg/dL) is far too high in light of a mounting body of evidence showing the adverse effect of lead at much lower levels.1–6 In addition, the other RAOs for environmental criteria (e.g., soil, dust, and water contaminant levels) were set at levels much higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) own standards.7 Although Stifelman et al. remain confident about the “protectiveness of the remedy,” this confidence does not equal valid and reliable data. The continued low participation in blood lead screening remains troublesome. In 2010, only 13 of 475 Medicaid children residing in the original Bunker Hill site (otherwise known as the “Box”) were screened; one had a BLL greater than 10 micrograms per deciliter. With less than three percent of Medicaid eligible children screened, let alone the broader population, safe lead exposure levels cannot be claimed. Although Stifelman et al. claim that “[a]chievement of BLLs below the RAO did not—and will not—stop remediation,” in February 2012 the EPA announced a massive scale back of the cleanup efforts at Bunker Hill.8,9 The EPA Region 10 director of environmental cleanup admitted that the work planned under this plan may not be sufficient. Finally, the social justice concerns raised by the use of BLLs (as well as other environmental criteria) as RAOs are not based on the distribution of exposure along socioeconomic lines. To the extent that the residents of Bunker Hill can be considered a vulnerable population (poverty, low educational achievement, and a background of poor health outcomes), exposure to lead increases the risk of adverse health outcomes compared with nondisadvantaged populations. The result is an exacerbation of the existing inequalities that threaten the health and well-being of Bunker Hill residents.

Plasticity of photosynthetic performance of the Indian tree Butea monosperma TAUB. at three sites with different microclimates

The Fabaceae tree Butea monosperma (TAUB.; syn. Erythrina monosperma (LAM.)) is widely distributed in Central and West-India. We studied it at three sites, i.e. at two locations with contrasting exposure (NE and SW, respectively) in a small mountain range with poor soil on highly drained rocky slopes and at a third location in a plane with deeper soils and better water supply. The two mountain range sites differed in the light climate where the NE-slope obtained more day-integrated irradiance. Chlorophyll fluorescence was measured with a portable fluorometer and leaf samples for stable isotope analyses (δ(13)C, δ(15)N, δ(18)O) were collected. No differences were seen in carbon and nitrogen contents of leaves at the three sites. N and O isotope signatures of the leaves were similar at the two rocky hill slope sites. More positive values for both signatures were obtained in the leaves in the plane. For all sites saturation of ETR was only achieved well above a PPFD of 1,000μmolm(-2)s(-1) indicating that the leaves were sun-type leaves. The photosynthetic performance of Butea at the plane was very similar to that at the SW-slope of the mountain range and higher ETRs were obtained at the NE-slope. Ecophysiological flexibility allows Butea to perform well in a variety of habitats and yet gives it particular fitness at specific sites. The best performance was observed in the highly insolated steep rocky hill site (NE-slope) underlining the suitability of the tree for reforestation.

Seismically induced boulder displacement in the Port Hills, New Zealand during the 2010 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake

An analysis of boulders displaced during the September 2010 M W 7.1 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake provides non-instrumental constraints on the variability, distribution and origin of strong ground motion during major earthquakes. Boulders ranging in mass from 10 to 5000 kg were displaced 8–970 cm laterally from hosting soil sockets of <1 cm to 50 cm depth at several sites in the Port Hills, roughly 35 km southeast of the earthquake epicentre. Boulder displacement was observed on N-striking (000–015°) ridges above c. 400 m elevation but not on NE-, NW- and SE-striking ridges. The prevailing boulder horizontal displacement azimuth of 250±20° is subparallel with the direction of instrumentally recorded transient peak ground horizontal displacements. Boulder displacement distance has no correlation with displacement azimuth, boulder mass or soil socket depth and has a partial correlation with slope angle. The lateral displacement of many boulders from low slope (<10°) ground surfaces on ridge crests exceeds nearby instrumentally recorded peak ground displacements at lower elevations by up to an order of magnitude, implying that seismic waves were amplified at the study sites. Preliminary 2-D FLAC modelling suggests that topographic amplification may explain this observation. The co-existence of displaced and non-displaced boulders at proximal (<1 m spacing) sites also suggests small-scale ground motion variability and/or varying boulder-ground dynamic interactions relating to shallow phenomena such as variability in soil depth, bedrock fracture density and/or microtopography on the bedrock–soil interface. Remapping of boulders following the February 2011 M W 6.2 Christchurch earthquake reveals no subsequent relocation despite locally recorded horizontal and vertical ground accelerations well in excess of the Darfield earthquake and pervasive rockfalls and landslides elsewhere. This study successfully identifies some of the major controls on spatial ground motion variability at non-instrumented locations and highlights the complexity of ground response at different spatial scales and for different earthquake characteristics.

Vegetational diversity of a deciduous forest from West Bengal

Aim of the present study was to compare the floristic composition, phytosociological parameters such as frequency, density, basal area and importance value index (IVI) of hill top, foot hill and stream side region of a tropical dry deciduous forest range. The name of the forest range is Banspahari which is situated in the Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal. The result indicated Shorea robusta Gaertn. as the most ecologically dominant species in these three study sites of the said forest range. Phytosociological analysis revealed that the forest types of hill top, foot hill and stream side forest is Shorea – Diospyros – Buchanania, Shorea – Terminalia – Buchanania and Shorea – Terminalia – Anogeissus respectively. Total tree basal area was estimated to be 55.16 m2/ha in the hill top site, 44.38 m2/ha in the foot hill site and 36.4 m2/ha in the stream side region. Total tree density, concentration of dominance value and the species diversity were calculated. Total density and concentration of dominance value is higher in the foot hill site but species diversity is higher in the stream side forest site.

Diet and Rank in a Caribbean Maritime Society

AbstractThe investigation of social inequality in the Caribbean mainly has focused on the larger islands of the Greater Antilles where ethnohistoric records and monumental architecture form the basis for analysis of precolumbian complex societies. This paper presents evidence for status differentiation in the Lesser Antilles on the small island of Anguilla within a deposit at the Sandy Hill site and evaluates associated archaeofauna for evidence of rank-based differences in food consumption. When compared with three other sites, the higher density of status-related artifacts and higher densities of food remains at the Sandy Hill site are interpreted as the result of feasting. No evidence for inequality is observed in patterns of food consumption.

Quality criteria of urban parks: The case of Alaaddin Hill (Konya-Turkey)

This study aimed to determine the quality criteria that are effective in assessing urban parks as qualified/successful places, which are arranged in order to meet the needs of people living cities for access to natural environment and opportunities for social communication. As a result of a comprehensive literature research, quality criteria for urban parks are defined as accessibility, activities/variety, comfort and image and sociability. User-behaviour, needs and expectations were also taken into consideration, as these components will also play an important role in the quality of the place. The determined quality criteria were assessed at Alaaddin Hill, a big tumulus place in the city centre of Konya that serves as an urban park. A questionnaire survey was carried out on a heterogeneous group consisting of 350 people chosen at random. The quality of the Alaaddin Hill site was assessed through interpretation of field observations and questionnaire responses. It was concluded that the four criteria examined were very important to the assessment of a successful urban park and should inform the design principles of such projects. Key words: Urban park, quality criteria, Alaaddin Hill, Konya.