Foot Of Mountain Research Articles

He Speaks Volumes: A Biography of George Bowering by Rebecca Wigod

Reviewed by: He Speaks Volumes: A Biography of George Bowering by Rebecca Wigod Miriam Nichols Rebecca Wigod, He Speaks Volumes: A Biography of George Bowering. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2018. 336 pp. Paper, $24.95. As a former student of George Bowering's at Simon Fraser University and an interviewee for Rebecca Wigod's He Speaks Volumes: A Biography of George Bowering, I am delighted to welcome [End Page 210] a book that takes us through the life and times of this important writer. Bowering was born in 1935 in Penticton and grew up in Oliver, both small towns in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. A "firecracker of a little boy" (17), he discovered early on a passion for writing and baseball that has lasted a lifetime. Bowering honed his writing skills at the University of British Columbia in the late 1950s and early 1960s, where he became a contributing editor of TISH, a student-run literary journal known for its cheek and for drawing inspiration from the New American Poets, notably Robert Duncan. Over his writing life and teaching career at Simon Fraser University, Bowering has written, edited, or coedited over a hundred books of poetry, fiction, criticism, drama, memoir, and history. Wigod's introductory chapter is called "Mr. Prolific." With such a subject the biographer's ever-present dilemma of selection looms particularly large: how to corral a writer of such range in a mere 300 pages? Wigod opts for short, thematic chapters that go for representative descriptions and anecdotes: "The Boy," "The Youth," "The Diarist," "The Varsity Man," "The TISH Man," "The Husband," "The Professor," "The Poet," and so on. This many-threaded story gives us a Bowering who is part trickster and postmodern parodist, part historian, and part high lyricist. The last of these roles notably appears in a chapter titled "The Success," where Wigod draws attention to Bowering's stunning Kerrisdale Elegies (1984; reissued 2008). This book-length poem pushes off from Rainier Maria Rilke's Duino Elegies and illustrates Bowering's remarkable capacity for achieving depth of feeling and intellect in casual language. There's a word for this style, Wigod writes: tapinosis is "a rhetorical device with which serious things are said in offhand, slangy language" (198), a device Bowering uses admirably. Another important feature of Bowering's practice, particularly evident in the novels and histories, is his tango with Canadian nationalism. Wigod records the outrage among nationalist literati that accompanied both of Bowering's Governor General Award wins, for Rocky Mountain Foot (1969) and Burning Water (1980). At midcentury many Canadian writers and academics were intent on establishing a canon distinct from the American, and some took Bowering's interest in William Carlos Williams, Gertrude Stein, [End Page 211] Charles Olson, Jack Spicer, and Alan Ginsberg as an affront to this effort. Ironically, decades after that battle few writers can claim more Canadian content than Bowering. In addition to A Short Sad Book (1977), a hilarious send-up of the Canadian quest for identity, Bowering has a trilogy of historical novels set in British Columbia and three histories that show the breadth of his grasp of Canadian history and the depth of his commitment to a writerly telling of it: Bowering's B.C.: A Swashbuckling History (1996); Egotists and Autocrats: The Prime Ministers of Canada (1999, 2000); and Stone Country: An Unauthorized History of Canada (2003). The history books, Wigod says, combine "a mastery of facts paired with jaunty narration, authorial intrusion, literary references, and punchy chapter titles" (228–29). In 2002 Bowering was named Canada's first poet laureate. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada that year and received the Order of British Columbia in 2004. Any biography is subject to the reproach of omission; mine of this genre is that I would have liked to have seen a more emphatic statement of Bowering's artistry and his significance to the many literary communities in which he has participated. Wigod's tale is aimed at a general readership, and this means she has had to trade in-depth commentary on Bowering's writing for accessibility. Nonetheless, this book is an engaging read and a useful resource, with...

Influence of the application of irrigated water-soluble calcium fertilizer on wine grape properties

The eastern foot of Helan mountain is a famous production area of high-end wine grapes in China. Excessive application of NPK fertilizer induced deficiency in trace elements, such as calcium, and seriously affected the properties of wine grapes. A vineyard in the eastern foot of Helan mountain was selected to investigate the influence of five different concentration treatments of 15 (T1), 30 (T2), 45 (T3), 60 (T4), and 75 (T5) kg·ha-1 of water-soluble calcium fertilizer (Ca(NO3)2·4H2O) application on grape calcium content, yield and fruit properties. The application of calcium fertilizer significantly increased the calcium content in leaves but reduced that in stems and fruits. The highest grape production of 6560.83 kg·ha-1 was achieved at T5 calcium fertilizer application, corresponding to increase of 30.92% than that for the control (CK, normal fertilization) treatment. The minimum titratable acid of 4.63 g·L-1 in grapes was detected at T2 calcium fertilizer application, which was 16.38% lower than CK, however, 13.40% increase in sugar-to-acid ratio was observed at T2. At 45 kg·ha-1 calcium fertilizer concentration, the anthocyanins content was 6.47 mg·L-1, indicating an increase of 53.23% than CK. This study showed that the optimal calcium fertilizer concentration was 30 kg·ha-1 with the lowest °Brix, titratable acidity, anthocyanins, the highest total phenols, reducing sugar, sugar-to-acid ratio, and an acceptable concentration of the soluble sugar and tannins.

Using Drone As a Map to Draw Landslide Hazard Areas in the Application of Community Environmental Education

Besides used the data from topography, geology, soil, landuse, history disaster records to definite to dangerous areas with heavy rain in typhoon on communities on the river valley and foot of mountain. The government also need to organize local residents living in these landslide disaster potential areas to evacuate efficiently. In this research, drone is used as an image background and then overlay drawing potential hazard households, evaluation routes, shelters and surround hazard environment factors. The result shows local residents is more easily to understand hazard boundary comparing to other traditional maps such as google maps for the undertakers in villages and towns in environmental education.

The stonework and stone walls built of Shirakawa-ishi in three villages at the foot of Higashiyama, Kyoto

Shirakawa-ishi, a type of white granite used in Japanese gardens, was quarried by three villages located at the foot of north Higashiyama Mountain (Kitashirakawa, Ichijoji and Shugakuin) until the early Showa period. After the rapid urbanization from Meiji period, the village landscapes created by Shirakawa-ishi either changed or were lost. This paper aims at grasping the quantity and condition of stonework and stone walls built by Shirakawa-ishi remaining in these three villages, and discussing on their characteristics of local stone use. Through field investigation, we confirmed 62 pieces of stonework and 157 stone walls on the streets of three villages. Stonework including Buddhist images, lanterns and guideposts were almost small in size. Kitashirakawa contained only 18 stone walls, which showed the most urbanization among three villages, but the high density of stonework and high ratio of cut-stone use in stone walls reflected the village’s advanced techniques of stone processing. Ichijoji and Shugakuin contained more stone walls built using natural stone, due to the influences of delayed urbanization and a mountainous location. Ichijoji contained a significantly high number of Buddhist images and lantern sets, which showed us that the local village landscapes were mostly preserved among these three villages.

Origin of the Mushroom Stone Forest at the southeastern foot of the Little Sangpu Mountain in eastern Guangdong, China: A palaeo-sea-level indicator or not?

The Mushroom Stone Forest, which consists of granite boulders looking like mushrooms with flared sidewalls, is located in eastern Guangdong, China, and is a famous scenic spot that draws many tourists each year. The Mushroom Stone Forest has been traditionally recognized as a collection of wave erosion landforms and used for the reconstruction of palaeo-sea-level changes along the coastal areas of eastern Guangdong in previous coastal researches. By combining in situ measurements of the aspect, vertical profile and height of boulder sidewalls, palaeo-coastal wave direction estimation, rock density determination, major elemental analysis, and petrographic thin section analysis, this paper presents an alternative origin for the Mushroom Stone Forest. Our results suggest that wave or wind erosion cannot offer a satisfactory explanation for the formation of the Mushroom Stone Forest; The boulders that make up the Mushroom Stone Forest originated from the corestones in the granite weathering crusts of the Little Sangpu Mountain; When the debris of the weathering crust was removed, the corestones are perched on rocky outcrops or half-buried by weathering debris beneath the natural land surface; The flared sidewall (concave vertical profile) of the boulders is a particular form developed in the foot zone of a half-buried boulder through increased chemical weathering beneath the land surface. A recent exposed half-buried boulder found in the study area provides convincing evidence to support this argument. Sea water reached the foot of the Sangpu Mountain during the Holocene transgression, but it merely provided a mechanism to erode the weathering debris from the bottom of the mushroom rocks and enhanced salt weathering that created tafoni on the boulders. These findings demonstrate that the boulders of the Mushroom Stone Forest are not sea stacks and cannot be served as a palaeo-sealevel indicator.

Sacred Sanpedro in ethnoarchaeological context

The earliest graphic evidence for the Sanpedro cactus occurs in north-coastal Cupisnique Culture (1500–500 BC) with ceramic depictions of the cactus by itself or more frequently associated with felines and stepped volutes. In Chavin Culture (1200–500 BC), the cactus is found in lithic sculpture associated with the “Smiling God.” By Moche times (AD 100–800), Sanpedro is held in the hands of hooded females depicted alone in Moche I and II. By Moche IV there is a proliferation of these females conducting curing ceremonies. An important Sanpedro association in early Moche is with mountains. By Moche IV one ceramic depicts a blood sacrifice at the foot of a five-peaked mountain which recent research has demonstrated to be Cerro Campana, a mountain invoked by contemporary curanderas located midway between Huaca de la Luna in the Moche Valley and Huaca Cao Viejo in the Chicama Valley. Cosmograms at both of these sites are mirror-images of each other. The backgrounds of these painted reliefs include images that may be slices of Sanpedro. In the two reliefs the tripartite structuring of icons expressing a “complementarity of opposites” recurs in Cuzco’s Coricancha cosmogram and the organization of power objects on contemporary curandero altars (mesas). In Lambayeque Culture (AD 800–1100) the hooded female is depicted alone holding Sanpedro. In Chimú Culture (AD. 900–1470) there is a paucity of Sanpedro depictions probably reflecting a divergence of grass-roots curanderismo from a fully-formed state religion, a situation that continues to the present.

Моделювання поширення Epipactis tallosii (Orchidaceae) в Центральній частині Європи

The majority of European orchids are of significant conservation importance, due to their specific ecological and biological requirements. The genus Epipactis Zinn. in Europe is well known for its intricate systematics and confused taxonomy. The E. tallosii A.Molnár & Robatsch was discovered and described relatively late (in 1997), it was described based on a single Hungarian population, at the southwestern foot of Bakony mountains, near the village of Nyirád. The occurrence of this species in Slovakia was known from the mid of 1990s but it was not identified until 1997. The presence of the species is also known in the Czech Republic and Romania. The E. tallosii is currently enlisted in the Endangered (EN) category of the Red List (Bilz et al., 2011), and is considered very rare, mostly represented by very small and isolated populations over its scattered distribution area. The area of occupancy of this orchid is below 500 km² and according to recent assessments the population exhibits a decreasing trend (Fay, 2011). This paper investigated the potentional spread of the rare species Epipactis tallosii in Central Europe based on currently known localities. Taxonomy of the representatives of this genus is very complicated due to the morphological differentiation of their flower. For instance, in Hungary it was found in gallery forests, oak and oak-hornbeam forests both on the lowlands and in more hilly regions, as well as in poplar plantations. According to most recent IUCN Red List E. tallosii is one of the most threatened orchids of Europe. Based on the known localities of this species, we tried to simulate potentionally distribution of the species the Central part of Europe. The spatial modeling was performed using Maxent software tools. The simulation includes 163 known localities of the species. The data sets of GIS layers corresponding to 19 ecological climatic factors, in addition to another layer – the altitude taken from the WorldClim systems. The map was built using Quantum – Gis and Diva –Gis information systems. The potentional area of occurence are established.

ANALISIS JARINGAN KOMUNIKASI MASYARAKAT DALAM KESIAPAN MENGHADAPI BENCANA LONGSOR DI KAKI GUNUNG BURANGRANG KAB. BANDUNG BARAT

West Bandung Regency is an area that has hilly topography and mountains. It causes the area of West Bandung to be prone to landslides. One way that can be done to reduce the risk of landslide disaster is to improve the effective communication network. This study aims to describe and analyze the community communication network In Landslide Preparedness Facing Landslide at Burangrang Mountain Foot Kab. West Bandung. This research method use approach of communication network analysis using Ucinet 6.0. The results showed that the structure of risk communication network network is personalized interlocking (interlocking personal network). The average value of local centrality on this network is 4.113. Based on the results of the analysis that has been done, there are several clicks in the communication network; some actors who act as star in the network; some isolate individuals who do not get or relate to other parties to obtain information related to landslide disaster.

Conflicts Between Koguryo and Mulgil(勿吉) in the Late 5th Century, and Changes in the Northern Border Areas

Examined in this article are the conflicts that continued between Koguryo and Mulgil(勿吉) in the 5th century’s latter half, and how those clashes affected the border space in the Northern regions. At the time, the central region of Mulgil was located at the midstream and downstream areas of the East-bound(東流) Song’hwa-jiang(松花江) river. While fighting Koguryo, Mulgil advanced its presence to the upstream of the same river before 475, and then in 475 finally made its debut on the international stage by dispatching a diplomatic envoy to the Northern Wei [北魏] government, via a waterway connecting the Song’hwa-jiang and Nen-jiang(嫩江) rivers as well as a land route crossing the Eastern mountain foot of the Daxing’an-ling(大興安嶺) mountain range. After 475, Mulgil proceeded to the downstream area of the North-bound Song’hwa-jiang river, and even attempted to proceed in the direction of the Koguryo territory. This resulted in both sides fiercely fighting with each other at the said river’s downstream area. In 494, the Late Buyeo(後扶餘) faction in the Nong’an(農安) area surrendered to Koguryo, and right before 503 and 504 Mulgil successfully annexed the above-mentioned downstream area of the North-bound Song’hwa-jiang river, following its prior occupation of the East-bound Song’hwa-jiang river’s upstream area. Meanwhile, Koguryo and Mulgil competed diplomatically as well, to win several tribes in the North. In order to separate Mulgil and Northern Wei from each other, Koguryo discussed with Yuyeon(柔然) in 479 the division of the Jiduwu(地豆于) area. Koguryo’s effort generated a much wanted effect, as it prevented Mulgil from sending an envoy to Northern Wei from 478 through 485. Yet this also caused a bit of a backfire for Koguryo, as its relationship with Khitan(契丹) deteriorated as a result. Mulgil took advantage of this new situation, by befriending Khitan and therefore managing to resume envoy-sending to Northern Wei. Later, Koguryo found itself in an increasingly disadvantageous diplomatic situation, as it fared worse in several armed conflicts with Mulgil. With the Mulgil approaching the region, Koguryo came to share borders with it at the Daeheuk(大黑) mountain range. Koguryo’s Northern territory was seriously compromised, and to make matters worse its connection with the North was partially blocked by Mulgil. It became much more difficult for Koguryo to communicate with Northern tribes because of the presence of Mulgil.

The direction of protein evolution is destined by the stability

Protein evolution is potentially governed by protein stability. Here, we investigated the relationship between protein evolution and stability through the random mutational drift of a thermophilic bacterial protein, an esterase of Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius (Aac-Est), at high and low temperatures. In the first random mutation of Aac-Est, few proteins exhibit increased activity at 65 °C, indicating that the wild-type (WT) Aac-Est is located on the peak of a mountain in a fitness landscape for activity at high temperature. To obtain higher active variants than those of WT, it must go down the mountain once and climb another, higher mountain. In the second and third generations from lower active templates, the evolvability (the proportion of variants with higher activity in all the variants obtained in a given generation than a parent protein) depended on the stability of the template proteins. Compared to WT, the stability-maintaining template could recover the activity more. Thus, a low-activity variant with high stability is able to drift vastly in sequence space and reach the foot of a higher mountain. Meanwhile, random mutations in stability-loss templates produced several variants with higher activity at 40 °C than those produced by WT, via cold adaptation. Our results indicate that maintaining protein stability enables the protein to search sequence space and evolve in the original environment, and proteins with lost stability use a cold adaptation path.

Estimating the population size of migrating Tibetan antelopesPantholops hodgsoniiwith unmanned aerial vehicles

AbstractData on the distribution and population size of the Near Threatened Tibetan antelopePantholops hodgsoniiare necessary to protect this species. Ground-based count surveys are usually carried out from a long distance to avoid disturbing the sensitive animals, and on calving grounds or along migration routes where they are seasonally concentrated. This can result in underestimation of population sizes if terrain features obstruct the view and high concentrations of animals make estimating numbers difficult. Here we test the efficacy of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for gathering population data for the Tibetan antelope. We conducted the study south of a known calving ground, at the foot of Sewu Snow Mountain, in the Chang Tang National Nature Reserve, China. The UAV did not appear to disturb the animals and resulted in more accurate counts than ground-based observations. A total of 23,063 Tibetan antelopes were identified in twelve orthoimages derived from c. 4,000 aerial photographs. In the first flight area 7,671 females and 4,353 calves were identified (proportion of calves: 36.2%). In the second flight area 7,989 females and 3,050 calves were identified (proportion of calves: 27.6%). Two flights over the same area revealed the direction and speed of moving Tibetan antelope groups. Image resolution, which can be controlled with flight planning, was an important factor in determining the animals’ visibility in the photos. We found that UAV-based surveys outperformed ground-based surveys, and that larger UAVs are preferable for this application.

Early recovery process and restoration planning of burned pine forests in central eastern Korea

In central eastern Korea, there has been a continued effort to sustain pine forests because of their value for wood and mushroom production, as well as for other resources. Through the analysis of previously burned areas, we clarified the effects of fire on vegetation dynamics of pine forests by measuring changes in species composition, population structure, and the growth rates of major tree species. Vegetation analysis was conducted on a series of 100 m2 plots established in Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora Siebold. & Zucc.) and Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica Fisch. Ex Ledeb.) forests situated in three different topographic positions on slopes where fire severity varied. We confirmed that most pine trees will succumb to even a surface fire, whereas oak may be killed following high intensity or infrequent fires but will sprout and become dominant. Complete protection from fire favors other, more shade-tolerant deciduous hardwoods. Different restoration plans apply, based on observed vegetation responses for each topographic zone. Near the ridge top, where pine seed sources are most limited, it may be necessary to restore pine forests by planting and to control competing shrubs and herbs. At the mountain foot, where exotic species and species modified by hybridization have invaded aggressively, restoration that involves the introduction of natural vegetation is required. Mid-slope sites, where pine has been replaced by natural vegetation dominated by Mongolian oak, do not require any form of restorative treatment.

Improved Method of Suitability Classification for Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) Cultivation in Paddy Field Soils

In Korea, the largest agricultural lands are paddy fields which have poor infiltration and drainage properties. Recently, Korean government pursuits cultivating upland crops in paddy fields to reduce overproduced rice in Korea. In order to succeed this policy, it is critical to set criteria suitability classification for upland crops cultivating in paddy field soils. The objective of this study was developing guideline of suitability classification for sesame cultivation in paddy field soils. Yields of sesame cultivated in paddy field soils and soil properties were investigated at 40 locations at nationwide scale. Soil properties such as topography, soil texture, soil moisture contents, slope, and drainage level were investigated. The guideline of suitability classification for sesame was determined by multi-regression method. As a result, sesame yields had the greatest correlation with topography, soil moisture content, and slope. Since sesame is sensitive to excessive soil moisture content, paddy fields with well drained, slope of 7-15% and mountain foot or hill were best suit for cultivating sesame. Sesame yields were greater with less soil moisture contents. Based on these results, area of best suitable paddy field land for sesame was 161,400 ha, suitable land was 62,600 ha, possible land was 331,600 ha, and low productive land was 1,075,500 ha. Compared to existing suitability classification, the new guideline of classification recommended smaller area of best or suitable areas to cultivate sesame. This result may suggest that sesame cultivation in paddy field can be very susceptible to soil moisture contents. The guideline of suitability classification for sesame including soil moisture contents to represent characteristics of paddy field soils.

Облік мисливських звірів у мисливських угіддях (огляд методик)

The work on the census of game animals has regional features: dependence on a class and type of landscapes, and also natural and historical conditions. In lowland conditions, it is recommended to carry out accounting on test areas by a method of noise run and double mapping of animal tracks. In moun¬tainous areas, the route method (cenus of footprints in the snow) or full visual registration of deer at the stations of residence (at the foot of mountains, slopes, clear-cut areas) are recommended. For recording protected and non-abundant game species (bison, elk, brown bear, lynx, wild cat, gray wolf, and Eurasian otter), which are listed in the Red Data Book, using the questionnaire and hunting service annual phenological observations are recommended. In the field, registration of gray hares is carried out by the method of noise run and route method (census of footprints in the snow).

Locating the QCD critical end point through peaked baryon number susceptibilities along the freeze-out line**Supported by NSFC (11275213, and 11261130311) (CRC 110 by DFG and NSFC), CAS key project KJCX2-EW-N01, and Youth Innovation Promotion Association of CAS

We investigate the baryon number susceptibilities up to fourth order along different freeze-out lines in a holographic QCD model with a critical end point (CEP), and we propose that the peaked baryon number susceptibilities along the freeze-out line can be used as a clean signature to locate the CEP in the QCD phase diagram. On the temperature and baryon chemical potential plane, the cumulant ratio of the baryon number susceptibilities (up to fourth order) forms a ridge along the phase boundary, and develops a sword-shaped “mountain” standing upright around the CEP in a narrow and oblate region. The measurement of baryon number susceptibilities from heavy-ion collision experiments is along the freeze-out line. If the freeze-out line crosses the foot of the CEP mountain, then one can observe the peaked baryon number susceptibilities along the freeze-out line, and the kurtosis of the baryon number distributions has the highest magnitude. The data from the first phase of the beam energy scan program at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider indicates that there should be a peak of the kurtosis of the baryon number distribution at a collision energy of around 5 GeV, which suggests that the freeze-out line crosses the foot of the CEP mountain and the summit of the CEP should be located nearby, around a collision energy of 3–7 GeV.

The Impact of Föhn Winds on Surface Energy Balance During the 2010–2011 Melt Season Over Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica

AbstractWe use model data from the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System (AMPS), measurements from automatic weather stations and satellite observations to investigate the association between surface energy balance (SEB), surface melt, and the occurrence of föhn winds over Larsen C Ice Shelf (Antarctic Peninsula) over the period November 2010 to March 2011. Föhn conditions occurred for over 20% of the time during this period and are associated with increased air temperatures and decreased relative humidity (relative to nonföhn conditions) over the western part of the ice shelf. During föhn conditions, the downward turbulent flux of sensible heat and the downwelling shortwave radiation both increase. However, in AMPS, these warming tendencies are largely balanced by an increase in upward latent heat flux and a decrease in downwelling longwave radiation so the impact of föhn on the modeled net SEB is small. This balance is highly sensitive to the representation of surface energy fluxes in the model, and limited validation data suggest that AMPS may underestimate the sensitivity of SEB and melt to föhn. There is broad agreement on the spatial pattern of melt between the model and satellite observations but disagreement in the frequency with which melt occurs. Satellite observations indicate localized regions of persistent melt along the foot of the Antarctic Peninsula mountains which are not simulated by the model. Furthermore, melt is observed to persist in these regions during extended periods when föhn does not occur, suggesting that other factors may be important in controlling melt in these regions.

A conversation with George Bowering

George Bowering was born in Penticton , British Columbia in 1935 and grew up in the nearby town of Oliver . He is one of Canada’s most prolific writers, with over one hundred books to his credit, not including more than thirty chapbooks. A poet, novelist, essayist, critic, professor, historian, and editor, he is also an enthusiastic supporter of emerging writers. His writing has been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, German, Chinese, and Romanian. He has twice won the Governor General’s Literary Award – for poetry (1969) and for fiction (1980) –, the bpNichol Chapbook Award for Poetry (1991 and 1992), the Canadian Author´s Association Award for Poetry (1993), holds Honorary Doctorates from the University of British Columbia (1994) and University of Western Ontario (2003), was the recipient of the Order of Canada (2003) and the Order of British Columbia (2004)., and was appointed the first Parliamentary Poet Laureate (2202-2004). He also received the Lieutenant Governor´s Award for Literary Excellence (2005) and The Pandora Collective Distinctive Body of Work Award (2011). His writing is quite experimental and his sharp witted, skeptical take on human nature and politics is definitely provocative in his discussing of what might be original about B. C. and the Canadian poet within a Eurocentric culture. A representative sample of his poetry can be found in Rocky Mountain Foot (1969), The Ganges of Kosmos (1969), Autobiology (1972), Selected Poems: Particular Accidents (1980), West Window (1982), The Kerrsidale Elegies (1984), Delayed Mercy and other poems (1987), Vermeer´s Light: Poems 1996-2006 (2006) and The World, I guess (2015). Like the work of the U.S. poets he admires – William Carlos Williams and Robert Creeley – Bowering’s poems, even at their most extended and philosophical, use vernacular, everyday language, and focus on immediate aspects of everyday life. From his fiction, A Short Sad Book (1977) and the historical trilogy about British Columbia, Burning Water (1980), Caprice (1988) and Shoot! (1994) stand out. He has also published seven collections of critical essays, five memoirs, three books of historical nonfiction and six plays.

Geochemistry of urban soil in the industrial town of Maribor, Slovenia

The first systematic geochemical survey of urban soil in the old industrial town of Maribor, Slovenia, was performed in 2016. Soil properties (pH, electrical conductivity, total carbon, organic matter) and 56 aqua-regia soluble elements were determined from 118 sampling sites. A relatively clear distinction between naturally and anthropogenically distributed elements was found by inspection of the spatial distribution of their highest levels and by applying Spearman rank correlation coefficients. The median levels of Cu, Pb and Zn in the soil are significantly higher than the corresponding Slovenian median levels. Their enrichment is typically found in industrialised zones and the old town centre, suggesting that the elevated levels are historical. In addition, current industrial activities, as well as road and rail traffic contribute to increased levels. Additionally, a few isolated locations with significant enrichment of several elements were identified. Widespread diffuse contamination was not identified. Spatial distribution patterns of many elements (e.g., Co, Cr, Fe, V) are influenced by the geological setting of the area, as their highest soil levels are concentrated at the foot of the igneous-metamorphic Pohorje Mountains.

Winter Nocturnal Air Temperature Distribution for a Mesoscale Plain of a Snow-Covered Region: Field Meteorological Observations and Numerical Simulations

AbstractWinter air temperatures strongly affect crop overwintering and cold resource usage. To clarify how winter air temperature distributions are formed in a mesoscale plain, field observations and simulations were conducted for the Tokachi region in Japan. Results elucidating the winter climate within the plain revealed that the winter mean air temperature at each site was correlated closely with the mean daily minimum air temperature. The daily minimum air temperature was not correlated with altitude, suggesting that local variation of the daily minimum temperature influences the temperature distribution. Observations at different distances from the upwind mountains revealed that nocturnal air temperatures were higher for stronger winds closer to the mountain foot. Low temperatures associated with wind speed suggest that radiative cooling strongly affects the temperature distribution. Wind and temperature conditions in the boundary layer influence the degree of drop in nocturnal air temperature and its distribution. The wind speed and direction, respectively, affect the extent and direction of the high-temperature zone from the northwest mountain foot. Simulations with a spatial resolution of 2 km reproduced the observed temperatures, but the error exceeded 5°C at sites having complex terrain under moderate or strong wind conditions. A higher-resolution model of 0.5 km showed that simulated temperatures approach the observed temperatures in association with a local wind system of down-valley drainage flow. In conclusion, the synoptic background, wind strength and direction over the plain, and microscale valleys affect boundary layer mixing and, thereby, determine the winter air temperature distribution.

Primal Weaving: Structure and Meaning in Language and Architecture

Primal Weaving:Structure and Meaning in Language and Architecture Jason Rhys Parry (bio) In Book II of the ancient architectural treatise, De architectura, Vitruvius gives a mythical account of the conjoined origins of architecture and language: “[I]n ancient times,” he writes, “men were born like wild animals in the forests, caves and woods, and spent their lives feeding on fodder” (37). One night, while a fierce storm ravaged the woods where these ancient humans lived, a mighty fire broke out. Faced with the flames, the men and women fled in terror. Some, however, recovering from their initial fright, and sensing the warmth emanating from the blaze, moved closer to it and began to throw more wood on it. Using sign language, those feeding the flames communicated to the others the virtues of the fire. After coming together around the fire, Vitruvius claims, “men began to form words,” and “by indicating frequently the things they used, they began to talk in a haphazard way and so generated a common language” (37). At this point, employing their novel means of communication, “some of them from these first groups began to make shelters of foliage, others to dig caves at the foot of mountains and yet others to build refuges of mud and branches in which to shelter in imitation of the nests of swallows and their way of building” (38). Alas, humans invented speech and architecture. According to Vitruvius, language and architecture owe their origins to fire; and Vitruvius’ myth, like many myths, hints at a possible truth—in this case, about the prehistoric production of structure and meaning. The fire is a sign that precipitates a crisis of interpretation: the ones who return to the flames resist the meaning their companions assigned to the fire—“dangerous”—and arrive at a more nuanced evaluation: “dangerous, yes, but also useful.” Fire also produces a distinct thermal space—a nomos—determined by the conduction of heat in the atmosphere. As heat radiates outward, it creates a fuzzy yet perceptible threshold between the sensations of coldness and warmth, to which humans readily adapt by forming rings around the blaze. By reinterpreting the fire, Vitruvius’ early humans learned to exploit this structured distribution of thermal intensity to invent a new social arrangement—the fireside ring—that [End Page 125] in turn created the conditions for the physical proximity, intimacy, and extended face-to-face contact that almost certainly, as Vitruvius claims, facilitated linguistic evolution (Wrangham 185). With language, humans devised a robust semiotic system that not only served communicative purposes, but also functioned to demarcate space. Language produces a space of audibility that is inherently social. The so-called “language barrier” is both the antecedent to and invisible correlate of the physical barrier marking out the edges of a human group. The unique phonology of a language creates a shared semantic zone—a “wall-less house of sounds”—that marks an inside and an outside just as effectively as a crude material barrier (Sloterdijk 520). As evidenced by Paleolithic findings, the physical walls that later traced an outline around the social space of a shared language also owe their origins to fire (Campbell 93). Early humans protected their fires by erecting a low stone boundary around the flames. In this arrangement of stones, we see the ancient predecessor of the wall, an instance of spatial delineation that would serve as a locus of successive encirclements: the stone boundary around the hearth would be, in turn, surrounded by another wall around the fire-sharing humans; and, eventually, would be echoed by the enclosures and fences around entire human settlements—that is, around the complete assembly of communal fires. Architecture and language therefore share a fundamental affinity with sound, since architecture emerges as a means of preserving the fireside space for language sharing, and, later, of articulating the edge of a linguistic community. Even writing, which itself is silent, stores within itself instructions for sound production. The arches and arabesques of written letters guide the human mouth in the formation of sounds as much as the arches and walls of buildings guide sound’s diffusion, absorption, and reflection. In his mythical account, Vitruvius cites swallows’ nests as...