Northern Stretch Research Articles

Youth Engagement in Water Quality Monitoring: Uncovering Ecosystem Benefits and Challenges

A youth-centric participatory mapping approach was employed to monitor the lower Mill Creek, an urban waterway located in Cincinnati, Ohio, by collecting geospatial data points on surface water quality and ecological assets. Utilizing the ArcGIS Field Maps application, a digital survey-based tool was developed to identify key areas related to ecological assets and urban water management challenges. The purpose of this citizen science approach was to allow researchers to capture and understand community perspectives and insights while engaging in scientific research that focuses on identifying geographic vulnerability areas and ecological assets. The primary objective was to empower local community groups and residents in an environmental justice neighborhood to understand the current opportunities and constraints of the adjacent waterbody, enabling informed decision-making for future planning initiatives that benefit both conservation and remediation efforts aligned with local values and needs. A youth-centric participatory mapping approach was employed to monitor the lower Mill Creek, an urban waterway in Cincinnati, Ohio, through the collection of geospatial data on surface water quality and ecological assets. The findings, based on hotspot analysis, revealed significant spatial clustering of heavy debris near the barrier dam and the lower portion of Mill Creek, where it converges with the Ohio River. This accumulation is attributed to the structural features of the barrier dam’s inner flood catchment area, which traps debris during rainfall events. Although no areas showed spatial significance for perceived ecological services, students identified specific areas with esthetic and biodiversity value, particularly at Mill Creek’s confluence with the Ohio River and along the northern stretch of the stream corridor. These findings provide valuable insights for guiding future conservation and remediation efforts that reflect both community values and environmental priorities.

Niches and Sculptures of the Imaginary Realm—Revisiting the Fowan Rock Carvings, Beishan, Dazu

The Fowan Cliff Carvings are a key part of the Dazu Grottoes. Formed in a southern and northern stretch, the 290 individual niches at Fowan were mostly sculpted from the Late Tang to the Southern Song. Previous research by archaeologists and art historians has used typological and iconographic methods to periodize these niches and debate the themes behind particular niche sculptures. This essay employs niche inscriptions in a discussion of typical Fowan niche contents, matching lay feasting activities onto the period background behind their construction. These individual case studies grant an understanding of the overall atmosphere at Fowan through the shared inclinations or connections between niches, also reflecting specific niche sculptures via holistic analysis. This method, repeatedly examining the relationship between the niches and site from the perspective of “venue”, helps us restore a sense of situatedness when facing different eras of Fowan and to understand the choice in statue content, changes in niche content, and the design underlying niche form.

Glacier Change and Its Influencing Factors in the Northern Part of the Kunlun Mountains

The glaciers in northwest China are mainly distributed in the northern part of the Himalayas, the Kunlun Mountains, and the Tianshan Mountains. Glaciers are an important freshwater resource in the northern part of the Kunlun Mountains, and the melting of glaciers and snow provides an assured source of water for rivers on the southern edge of the Tarim Basin. Based on the first glacier inventory dataset on China (1968), the second glacier inventory dataset on China (2009), and the glacier inventory dataset on Western China in 2018, this study used DEM data, Landsat remote sensing images, and ERA5 atmospheric reanalysis data to investigate glacier change and its influencing factors with respect to the northern part of the Kunlun Mountains. The results showed that there were 9273 glaciers in the northern part of the Kunlun Mountains in 2018, with an area of about 11,762.72 km2, an ice inventory of about 1168.53 km3, and an average length per glacier of about 1.68 km. The glaciers were mainly distributed at altitudes of 5300–6100 m (7574.66 km2). From 1968 to 2018, the number of glaciers in the northern stretch of the Kunlun Mountains increased by 343, while the glacier area decreased by 2452.80 km2 (−0.14%/a). From 2009 to 2018, the glacier area at the altitude of 4900 m to 6100 m decreased in the northern section of the Kunlun Mountains, and the glacier area at the remaining altitude increased slightly (10.67 km2). From 1968 to 2018, the glacier area and glacier length in all river basins decreased. The relative rate of glacier area change in the Qarqan River basin from 2009 to 2018 was five times that of 1968–2009, and this needs significant attention. From 1968 to 2018, both temperature and precipitation increased to varying degrees, and the increase in precipitation was beneficial to the accumulation of glaciers. Therefore, the increase in temperature was the main cause of glacier change in the northern section of the Kunlun Mountains.

Assessing Landslide Susceptibility in the Northern Stretch of Arun Tectonic Window, Nepal

The northern stretch of the Arun watershed in East Nepal is dominated by steep slopes and rugged topography and experiences extensive landslides each year. Reliable landslide susceptibility assessment can potentially be an important tool for risk evaluation and mitigation in the Himalayas. The present study explores two GIS-based bivariate statistical methods, the weight of evidence method and the frequency ratio method to assess the landslide susceptibility of the study area. Seven major variables including slope angle, slope aspect, slope shape, geology, stream proximity, stream power index and land use were examined as the major contributing factors to landslide occurrences in the assessment. The landslide susceptibility map produced from these two methods are characterized by four zones of very low, low, moderate and high susceptibility. The landslide percentage of each zone turns out to be consistent with the order of its susceptibility. The results suggest that the weight of evidence method is more sensitive to the spatial variation of relevant factors; both methods produced fairly reliable results, as confirmed by a success rate of 75% for the weight of evidence method and 71% for the frequency ratio method. The present study demonstrates that the quantitative assessment methods explored may have a promising potential for landslide assessment and prediction in the Himalayas.

Sound mapping and acoustic simulations in the implementation of the northern stretch of the Green Line in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil

The present study aims to study environmental noise pollution in areas close to the northern stretch of the Green Line, in Curitiba, PR, Brazil, which has a length of approximately 8 km. For this purpose, in situ measurements of sound levels were carried out and noise pollution was evaluated through the calculation of noise maps in addition to acoustic simulations. Measurements were recorded at 16 points following the guidelines of the NBR 10151. Acoustic maps were made for each point using proper acoustic software. The aim was to verify whether measured values were within a margin error of up to 4.6 dB(A) compared to simulated values. After validating the maps and verifying the noise pollution at the selected points, one of the points, which is close to a hospital, was analyzed alone to evaluate different simulation scenarios. The selected scenarios were replacement of common asphalt for one with porous properties; 90% restriction on the quantity of heavy vehicles; reduction of average speed of vehicles from 80 km/h to 60 km/h; 50% restriction on the number of vehicles of all categories; and acoustic situation of the site, including all the measurements proposed in the previous scenarios. All scenarios presented in this work reveal that the measurements adopted were not sufficient to reach 55 dB(A) near sensitive areas such as hospitals. They also show that just one control measure is not enough to lower noise efficiently. A plan with several joint measures is needed to alleviate the problem.

Sediment dynamics and morphological evolution in the Tagus Estuary inlet

The morphological evolution of the Tagus estuary inlet in the last century is analyzed in order to characterize its dynamics, explain its behavior and anticipate its future evolution. First, the evolution is characterized through a literature review, complemented by new data analyses. This review synthesizes the present understanding of the inlet's dynamics and highlights some key questions that remain unanswered. To address these questions, a 2DH process-based morphodynamic model is implemented and validated, and then used to refine the previous understanding of the inlet's dynamics. A new conceptual model, which highlights a seasonal behavior of the inlet's morphodynamics, is proposed. During winter time, the residual sediment transport is directed seaward along the navigation channel, towards the inlet mouth along the beaches adjacent to the inlet, and towards the estuary over the southern part of the ebb delta (Cachopo Sul). During the maritime summer, residual sediment fluxes are approximately half those occurring during winter. The relative importance of tidal flows increases, leading to sediment fluxes directed towards the southwest over the Cachopo Sul. The sediment deposits formed during the summer can be mobilized under specific wave conditions and transported to the northern stretch of the beaches to the south of the inlet. A positive feedback between the erosion of the Cachopo Sul – or, similarly, sea level rise – and the sediment fluxes over this bank suggests that the evolution of the bank observed during the last decades will continue in the foreseeable future.

Estimation of Regional Groundwater Discharge and Baseflow Contribution in Northern Stretch of the Yamuna River System of Delhi

Urban agglomerations in India of late have started facing drinking and domestic water scarcity. The city state of Delhi has witnessed accelerated urbanization and an exponential growth in population. In this context, it is desired to locate sustainable groundwater resources in Delhi. This communication examines the northern stretch of the Yamuna floodplain system in Delhi with respect to source sustainability. An aquifer can sustain extensive exploitation only if it is replenished regularly. Though the river floodplain system gets recharged by monsoon flooding, the recharged water may not sustain the source aquifer until the end of summer. Thus before exploitation all floodplains have to be examined vis-a-vis regional groundwater dynamics. In this context it was found that the floodplain system in the northern stretch of River Yamuna receives considerable regional groundwater flow. Some of this also contributes to river flow. The present study has estimated regional groundwater flow in this aquifer stretch of the Yamuna river system as 10,513,460 m 3 /yr (~11 MCM/yr). Besides, the yearly baseflow contribution to the Yamuna in the study area has been estimated as 518,472 m 3 /yr (~0.5 MCM/yr).

Densities and perceptions of jaguars in coastal Nayarit, Mexico

ABSTRACTConservation of large carnivores will require greater analyses of population parameters, habitat use, and distribution in multiuse landscapes as human populations increase and agriculture expands. We used Bayesian spatially explicit capture–recapture (SECR) models and completed 82 interviews in 24 localities over 4 field seasons from April 2009 to March 2013 to estimate densities and assess residents’ perceptions of jaguars (Panthera onca) in the San Blas Municipality within the southern Marismas Nacionales ecosystem in Nayarit, Mexico. Camera traps accumulated 90 detections of 9 jaguars (2 M, 5 F, and 2 individuals of unknown sex) in a 194‐km2 area during 1,575 trap‐nights from April to June 2010. We detected jaguars at 16 of the 27 camera‐trap sites and calculated a density estimate of 2.04 (SE = 0.45) individuals/100 km2 using the SECR method. This is one of the first studies to use SECR models for jaguar density estimation and 1 of only 2 studies throughout jaguar distribution to estimate population parameters of the species where human population densities reach >50 people/km2. Future studies in this unique landscape should focus on jaguar status in the northern stretches of the Marismas Nacionales and research the mechanisms that may allow this large carnivore to persist in altered landscapes among human population densities greater than previously believed to be tolerable by the species. © 2016 The Wildlife Society.

Latitudinal discontinuity in thermal conditions along the nearshore of central-northern Chile.

Over the past decade, evidence of abrupt latitudinal changes in the dynamics, structure and genetic variability of intertidal and subtidal benthic communities along central-northern Chile has been found consistently at 30–32°S. Changes in the advective and thermal environment in nearshore waters have been inferred from ecological patterns, since analyses of in situ physical data have thus far been missing. Here we analyze a unique set of shoreline temperature data, gathered over 4–10 years at 15 sites between 28–35°S, and combine it with satellite-derived winds and sea surface temperatures to investigate the latitudinal transition in nearshore oceanographic conditions suggested by recent ecological studies. Our results show a marked transition in thermal conditions at 30–31°S, superimposed on a broad latitudinal trend, and small-scale structures associated with cape-and-bay topography. The seasonal cycle dominated temperature variability throughout the region, but its relative importance decreased abruptly south of 30–31°S, as variability at synoptic and intra-seasonal scales became more important. The response of shoreline temperatures to meridional wind stress also changed abruptly at the transition, leading to a sharp drop in the occurrence of low-temperature waters at northern sites, and a concurrent decrease in corticated algal biomass. Together, these results suggest a limitation of nitrate availability in nearshore waters north of the transition. The localized alongshore change results from the interaction of latitudinal trends (e.g., wind stress, surface warming, inertial period) with a major headland-bay system (Punta Lengua de Vaca at 30.25°S), which juxtaposes a southern stretch of coast characterized by upwelling with a northern stretch of coast characterized by warm surface waters and stratification. This transition likely generates a number of latitude-dependent controls on ecological processes in the nearshore that can explain species-specific effects, and add strength to the suggestion of an oceanography-driven, major spatial transition in coastal communities at 30–31°S.

Phytoplankton of the Paraguay and Bermejo rivers

Fil: Zalocar, Yolanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecologia Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecologia Aplicada del Litoral; Argentina

A ictiofauna do Canal de Bertioga, São Paulo, Brasil

O Canal de Bertioga, localizado no litoral do estado de São Paulo, é delimitado pelo continente e pela ilha de Santo Amaro, constituindo a unidade natural que conecta os municípios de Santos, Guarujá e Bertioga, representando uma segunda conexão do complexo estuarino de Santos-São Vicente com o oceano. No presente estudo foram realizadas coletas, entre dezembro de 2009 a novembro de 2010, no trecho norte do Canal de Bertioga (23° 51' 23,83" S e 46° 07' 58,87" O e 23° 53' 31,72" S e 46° 11' 17,74" O), com o objetivo de inventariar a ictiofauna da região. Foram coletados 1.429 exemplares, pertencentes a 78 espécies, incluídas em 14 ordens, 39 famílias e 67 gêneros. As famílias mais especiosas foram Sciaenidae (nove spp.), Carangidae (nove spp.), Haemulidae (sete spp.), e Ariidae (cinco spp.), e as espécies mais abundantes foram Stellifer rastrifer (n = 243), Harengula clupeola (n = 182), Cathorops spixii (n = 144), Oligoplites palometa (n = 109) e Mugil curema (n = 102), sendo que Achirus lineatus, Atherinella brasiliensis, Cathorops spixii, Chaetodipterus faber, Citharichthys spilopterus, Genidens genidens, Micropogonias furnieri e Stellifer rastrifer, ocorreram em todas estações do ano. Das espécies encontradas, seis foram reconhecidas constantes, 19 acessórias e 53 ocasionais. Em relação aos seus hábitos, 40 espécies são marinho-estuarinas, 26 marinhas, 11 estuarinas e uma de água doce, sendo 52 espécies demersais e 26 pelágicas. Onze espécies são relacionadas em listas de espécies ameaçadas. Adicionalmente, é apresentada uma chave de identificação para as espécies do trecho norte do Canal de Bertioga.

From flowers to factories: a peregrination through changing landscapes on the edge of Tokyo

The east bank of Tokyo's main river, the Sumida, was lined on its northern stretch at Mukōjima by an embankment and by a series of temples, shrines and gardens that had been in the Edo period and continued into the Meiji era to be a favoured place for escape from the city and its physical and social constraints. In 1889, a large textile mill was founded at the embankment's northern end, and in the years that followed the area was largely industrialised. This paper traces this process of industrialisation and its culmination in the death of the cherry trees that lined the embankment as a result of flood and fire. It uses a variety of accounts to examine this process of marginalisation of a cultural landscape. In so doing, it reflects on some of the contradictory impacts of the process of urban modernisation and highlights the construction of a new riverside park and promenade in Mukōjima that incorporated the contradictory but classically modernist impulse to preserve the old while showcasing the new.

Nature and culture in the northern forest: region, heritage, and environment in the rural Northeast

Nearly 30 million acres of the Northern stretch across New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Within this broad area live roughly a million residents whose lives are intimately associated with the forest ecosystem and whose individual stories are closely linked to the region's cultural and environmental history. The fourteen engaging essays in Nature and Culture in the Northern Forest effectively explore the relationships among place, work, and community in this complex landscape. Together they serve as a stimulating introduction to the interdisciplinary study of this unique region. Each of the four sections views through a different lens the interconnections between place and people. The essayists in Encounters have their hiking boots on as they focus on personal encounters with flora and fauna of the region. The energizing accounts in Teaching and Learning question our assumptions about education and scholarship by proposing invigorating collaborations between teachers and students in ways determined by the land itself, not by the abstractions of pedagogy. With the freshness of Thoreau's irreverence, the authors in Rethinking Place look at key figures in the forest's literary and cultural development to help us think about the affiliations between place and citizenship. In 'Nature as Commodity', three essayists consider the ways that writers from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries thought about nature as a product and, thus, how their conclusions bear on the contemporary retailing of place. The writers in Nature and Culture in the Northern Forest reveal the rich affinities between a specific place and the literature, thought, and other cultural expressions it has nurtured. Their insightful and stimulating connections exemplify adventurous bioregional thinking that encompasses both natural and cultural realities while staying rooted in the particular landscape of some of the Northeast's wildest forests and oldest settlements.

Monitoring water quality in the coastal area of Tripoli (Lebanon) using high-resolution satellite data

Water quality in the coastal area of Tripoli (Lebanon) was assessed using Landsat 7 ETM+ data, to provide a first baseline for coastal resources management. The data were geometrically rectified to a standard geographical grid and brightness values were converted to reflectance through radiometric correction. Sea-truth data, collected in the field within 6 hours before/after the time of the satellite overpass, were used to derive empirical algorithms for chlorophyll-a concentration, Secchi disk depth and turbidity. Then, maps of the distribution of the selected water quality parameters were generated for the entire area of interest, and compared with analogous results obtained from SeaWiFS data. The maps indicate that the Tripoli coastal area is exposed to moderate eutrophic conditions, along most of its shoreline (in particular along the northern stretch), in correspondence with fluvial and wastewater runoff sources. The Landsat 7 ETM+ data proved useful for the intended application, and will be used to start a national database on water quality in the Lebanese coastal environment.

Fired Brick Conservation in the Kyrgyz Silk Roads

The paper outlines the materials and methods employed for the conservation of the Mausoleum 4, an excavated fired brick structure dating from the eleventh century. The ruin is located in Burana (upper Chuy valley, Kyrgyzstan), an archaeological site that played a relevant role in the development of the northern stretch of the central Asian Silk Roads. The paper discusses the experimental laboratory analyses carried out to test both historic and repair materials. It also discusses the information provided by the direct study of wall structures. A description is also given of how local experts were trained in conservation activities such as: damage assessment, analytic investigation of materials, craftsmanship, traditional skills, and intervention recording. The conservation of Burana's heritage was part of a wider UNESCO/Japan Trust Fund project named ‘Preservation of Silk Roads Sites in the Upper Chuy Valley in Kyrgyzstan: Navikat (Krasnaya Rechka), Suyab (Ak Beshim) and Balasagyn (Burana)’. The recommendations and practical methods explained here could be of use for those conservators working in similar projects in the Middle East or Asia.

Special Settlements in Soviet Russia in the 1930s-50s

Special Settlements in Soviet Russia in the 1930s–50s Reviewed by Oxana Klimkova Translated by Boris Gorshkov Viktor Arkad´evich Berdinskikh, Spetsposelentsy:Politicheskaia ssylka narodov Sovetskoi Rossii [Special Settlers: Political Exile of the Peoples of Soviet Russia]. 527 pp. Kirov: KOGUP, 2003. ISBN 5881864891. Reissued under the same title: 765 pp. Moscow: Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, 2005. ISBN 5867933571. T. V. Starevskaia Diakina, ed., Spetspereselentsy v SSSR [Special Settlers in the USSR]. 824 pp. Moscow: ROSSPEN, 2004. ISBN 5824306085. Vol. 5 of Iu. N. Afanas´ev et al., eds., Istoriia stalinskogo Gulaga: Konets 1920kh–pervaia polovina 1950kh godov. Sobranie dokumentov, 7 vols. [History of the Stalinist Gulag: The End of the 1920s to the First Half of the 1950s. A Collection of Documents]. Moscow: Rosspen, 2004–5. ISBN 5824306044 (set). Viktor Nikolaevich Zemskov, Spetsposelentsy v SSSR, 1930–1960 [Special Settlers in the USSR, 1930–60]. 304 pp. Moscow: Nauka, 2003. ISBN 5020103152. Contemporary Russian and Western scholarship has shown steadily increasing interest in uncovering the history of special settlements for deported population groups in the Soviet Union, sometimes termed "Soviet internal exile." Soviet authorities began to transfer problematic segments of the population to "special settlements" in distant and inaccessible regions as a repressive measure at the beginning of the 1920s and continued to employ this technique through the early 1950s. Deportations and the system of special settlements were primarily precautionary measures aimed at preventing anti-state demonstrations by certain "risk groups" that might have significant consequences. In their appearance, these places of special exile (often called spetsposelki) usually did not differ [End Page 105] from ordinary rural settlements.1 Their inhabitants, however, had significant limitations on their civil rights: they were subject to severe restrictions on freedom of movement and found themselves under the constant control of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD). Local administrative organs or so-called "special commands" (spetskomendatura) fulfilled this oversight function. In some cases "elders," who were elected by the deported individuals, answered to district officials (upolnomochennye) who regularly visited the settlements to check on the number of special settlers and the state of affairs in the settlements. The principle of collective responsibility (krugovaiaporuka) ensured the reliability of data submitted in this manner, for under this system the elders answered for any problems in the settlements or any falsifications in the reports.2 This particular regime envisioned the residence of special settlers together with their families within the limits of a region determined by the NKVD (later Ministry of Internal Affairs [MVD]). This system also encompassed compulsory labor by the special settlers in branches of the economy determined by the security organs as well as the absence of any clearly defined term of exile for the inhabitants. The existing historical literature traditionally presents 1930 as the watershed year in the history of the special settlements system. This year witnessed mass deportations of the dekulakized peasants to the country's distant regions, a development that gave rise to a peculiar social category, so-called spetsposelentsy (special settlers).3 Throughout the period from the 1930s to [End Page 106] the 1950s, this category encompassed hundreds of thousands of families. Areas of special settlement were most often located in the northern and eastern regions of the USSR. The largest regions of exile were Kazakhstan, western Siberia, the Urals, the northern stretches of European Russia, and Central Asia. The initial waves of deportees were directed to the North, the Urals, and western Siberia, but with time the focus broadened to include Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Oftentimes, the state employed forced deportation to further its goals of colonizing the country's uninhabited and inaccessible regions. In October 1940, the Gulag system comprised 1,645 special settlements, overseen by 160 regional and 741 district administrations. A total of 258,448 families—959,472 individuals—lived in these settlements.4 By 1 January 1953, the number of special settlers had grown to 2,753,356 (Zemskov, 205). The various...

Nutrient resorption in shrubs growing by design, and by default in Chihuahuan Desert arroyos

In the northern stretches of the Chihuahuan Desert, the margins of ephemeral stream channels called arroyos support a unique vegetation dominated by a guild of winter-deciduous shrubs. To explore the dynamics of nutrient conservation in this assemblage of arroyo shrubs, we measured nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) resorption efficiency and proficiency in six species of shrubs growing in arroyos in southern New Mexico. Collectively, these six species were no more efficient or proficient at resorbing N and P from senescing leaves than shrubs growing in other environments. Resorption efficiency averaged 53% and 50% for N and P, respectively, and resorption proficiency averaged 0.80% and 0.06% for N and P, respectively. However, resorption varied significantly between species specifically restricted in their distribution to riparian habitats (obligate riparian species), and those that were not. The two obligate riparian species combined (Brickellia laciniata, Chilopsis linearis) were significantly more efficient and proficient at resorbing N than the non-obligate riparian species combined (Fallugia paradoxa, Flourensia cernua, Prosopis glandulosa, Rhus microphylla). Additionally, both Brickellia and Chilopsis were individually significantly more proficient at resorbing N than any of the other four species. The dichotomy in resorption between obligate riparian species and those that were not may have been the result of the interplay between hydrology, geomorphology, and biology. Because arroyos move in space as the movement of water erodes banks and changes channel location, some plants are found along arroyos only because the arroyos have moved to them. These plants (plants growing by default) may be less well adapted to arroyo margins than obligate riparian species (plants growing by design). Significant differences in resorption between obligate and non-obligate riparian species suggested that evolutionary history and habitat specificity may be added to the list of factors known to influence resorption. Selected life history traits of the six species did not appear to be related to any measure of resorption, but leaf surface area, specific leaf mass, and nutrient concentrations in green leaves were all correlated with resorption efficiency or proficiency in one or more species. The only species capable of symbiotic N fixation, Prosopis glandulosa, retained at least 2.3 times more N in its senesced leaves than any other species. Patterns of resorption in arroyo shrubs strongly indicated that efficiency and proficiency are fundamentally different, complementary measures of resorption.

The history of the date through the ages in the Holy Land

The cultivated date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) has existed in the Holy Land at least since the Neolithic Age (6000-4000 B.C.), perhaps even before, when ancient man first took to sedentarv life in Jericho, all along the banks of the Jordan and in the neighbourhood of the Dead Sea. Because of their superior fruit, date palms of the Jordan Valley were famous throughout the length and breadth of the countries of this palm. There were palms along the coast as well, less important in that respect but tremendously impressive in their towering grandeur.3 The northern littoral of the Holy Land was known as Phoenicia, and it may be that we have here the origin of the early name of the date in Greek, 'phoenix.' Pliny, in his Natural History (XIII, IX, 42), theorizes that 'phoenix' comes from the name of a fabled bird of Egypt-according to Herodotus, it is a bird of Arabia, but, according to Philostratus, a bird of India. The legendary phoenix cremated itself, yet lived on, or a second one arose from its ashes: exactly as a palm goes on growing after it is scorched on the outside or puts forth shoots at its base, perpetuating the date culture. The date palm is, indeed, regarded as a symbol of immortality, but it is a matter of speculation whether the bird was named for the tree or the tree for the bird. At all events, for the ancient Greeks and Romans, this northern stretch of

Part I. Brak and Chagar Bazar: Their Contribution to Archaeology

The district in which the Expedition operated is roughly triangular in shape. The base of the triangle is conveniently defined by the railway line running from Tall Halaf to Nisibin which demarcates the frontier between Turkey and Syria, a distance of about 75 miles: the two sides, each about 50 miles long, are marked by the lines of the rivers Khabur and Jaghjagha which converge at Hasaka into a single stream. Below Hasaka the steppe on either side of the lower Khabur becomes drier towards its southern end, being more remote from the rain-belt which hangs around the Turkish hills. Moreover, the wadis which drain into the basin of the upper Habur-Jaghjagha triangle have mostly been sucked dry before they can filter through to the southern steppe. Thus the climate in the district of Brak and Chagar Bazar resembles that of Ninevite Assyria and differs from the drier Babylonian conditions of the country below the latitude of Hasaka. The summers are indeed intensely hot, even the northern stretches of the steppe then become arid, and only the Khabur and the Jaghjagha retain perennial water. In the Spring, however, there comes a magical change, and striding northwards between these two rivers one treads upon a gaily variegated carpet of wild flowers. As far as the eye can see there is mile upon mile of scarlet ranunculus and golden marigolds interspersed with tall and smiling hollyhocks. Far to the southwest loom the wild and inaccessible hills of the Jabal ‘Abd al-‘Aziz and Baida, where till within living memory monuments of the early dynastic age had stood undisturbed for nearly five thousand years.