Valleys Region Research Articles

'Profound personal and professional impacts': A qualitative study of clinician experiences of a mental health disaster response to Australia's black summer bushfires.

To explore the experiences of clinician and management stakeholders involved in a rural/metropolitan collaborative mental health disaster response to the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires in the Snowy Valleys region of southern New South Wales (NSW), Australia. A mental health and drug health service in the Snowy Valleys region of rural NSW in collaboration with a mental health service from metropolitan Sydney, NSW. Mental health clinicians and managers from a rural health district (n = 6) and a metropolitan health district (n = 8) involved in a collaborative disaster response to the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfire disaster in the Snowy Valleys region of southern NSW, Australia. An interpretive qualitative study design using semi-structured individual interviews, with transcripts analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Thematic findings on participant experiences are presented under three organising constructs of before (stepping up and jumping right in), during (finding a rhythm of working together), and after (profound personal and professional impacts) the mental health disaster response. Participant experiences had shared and distinct components before, during and after the mental health disaster response, culminating in profound personal and professional impacts. Findings highlight positive aspects and challenges for clinicians participating in a rural/metropolitan collaborative mental health disaster response. The findings of this study contribute new knowledge about experiences of mental health clinicians participating in a disaster response after bushfires, from dual perspectives of members of a bushfire-affected community and those responding from outside a bushfire-affected community, which may inform ongoing planning of responses to disaster in Australia.

Drysfeydd y Cymoedd: 1 The Sub-Topographies of South Wales Valleys’ Industrial Crises

In Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, Narrative, and History, Cathy Caruth defines as traumatic our encounters not with life-threatening events but with those that cause a break in our perception of time. She explains that the memory of trauma is always fleeting, leaving connections with the time and place of traumatic occurrence fragile and obscure. Caruth’s definitions shape the work of contemporary geographers who argue that trauma is fundamentally unmappable. Does trauma’s relationship to space change when traumatization becomes repetitive and systematic? To explore systematic traumatization’s relationship to space, I adopt Lauren Berlant’s trauma definition as a crisis of ordinariness and revisit the South Wales Valleys region and its coal mining history as traumatic and contested. Using the exceptional Aberfan 1966 disaster as a starting point, I investigate a more “common” industrial crisis of the same period and explore its relationship to the industrial space by analyzing its discursive and drawing records. In this journey, sketching out the spatial qualities of the colliery’s maze is crucial for understanding the crisis’ occurrence, its belatedness and commemoration.

Correlation between the quality and health of maize (Zea mays) seeds with flint and floury endosperms produced in the Central Highland Valley of Mexico

The assessment of physiological quality and health in maize seeds is crucial for selecting high-quality genotypes suitable for planting. However, this quality can vary due to different variables, including genotype or endosperm composition. Therefore, the present study aimed to establish a relationship between the physiological quality and health of the nine evaluated maize genotypes. Special attention was given to the dimensions of flint and floury endosperms, following protocols described by ISTA. Additionally, the study aimed to understand the interaction between each assessed variable and its influence on the performance of crops adapted to the Central High Valleys region of Mexico. The results of this study demonstrated that seeds with flint endosperms exhibited superiority in their physiological quality and health compared to those with floury endosperms.

Brief communication: Significant biases in ERA5 output for the McMurdo Dry Valleys region, Antarctica

Abstract. The ERA5 climate reanalysis dataset plays an important role in applications such as monitoring and modeling climate system changes in polar regions, so the calibration of the reanalysis to ground observations is of great relevance. Here, we compare the 2 m air temperature time series of the ERA5 reanalysis and the near-surface bias-corrected reanalysis to the near-ground air temperature measured at 17 automatic weather stations (AWSs) in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. We find that the reanalysis data have biases that change with the season of the year and do not clearly correlate with elevation. Our results show that future work should rely on secondary observations to calibrate when using the ERA5 reanalysis in polar regions.

Preliminary study of Nicuatole, a traditional endemic food based on Zea mays from the Central Valleys Region, Oaxaca, Mexico

The present investigation evaluated the pre-Hispanic food called "nicuatole" based on corn, from the Central Valleys region of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. The objective of the present work was to present preliminary results of the physicochemical and proximate properties of the pre-Hispanic food locally known as "nicuatole". The sample was prepared based on the traditional endemic recipe of the population of San Agustín Yatareni, Oaxaca, Mexico. To determine the physicochemical composition, samples of 10 g and 3 g were used for the tests (pH and density) and nutritional tests (moisture, proteins, lipids, minerals, and carbohydrates) based on the methods described by the Association of Official Analytical Chemistry (AOAC). As results, it was obtained that it has a pH of 6.18 and a density of 1.0812 g*mL-1. The main results of the proximal analysis and chemical composition of "nicuatole" were 2.1325% protein; 1.54% ash; 66.3738% humidity content; 0.7563% lipids; 9.6271% carbohydrates; 13.1731% fiber. The pre-Hispanic food known as "nicuatole" can be considered a healthy alternative for the Mexican population.
 Keywords: Pre-hispanic food; Nicuatole; Zea mays; Mexico; Dessert

EVALUATION OF QUINOA GERMPLASM IN ENVIRONMENTS OF THE CENTRAL HIGH-VALLEY LANDS OF MEXICO

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a crop that grows under conditions of environmental stress, has high nutritional value, and agronomic potential. It is grown and marketed on a small scale in Mexico. However, there are no varieties or technology for its production. The objective of this research was to determine the performance of quinoa germplasm in the Central high-valley lands of Mexico. Sixteen genotypes of different origins and characteristics were evaluated in three environments in the localities of Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala; and Santa Lucía de Prías, Texcoco, State of Mexico. Statistical differences (p ≤ 0.05) were found for genotypes. Late genotypes Suyana, Suma, Pata de Venado, Blanca Ayacucho, and Huauzontle showed higher grain yield (4004.9, 3888.3, 3091.1, 2999.7, and 2967.2 kg ha-1, respectively). Among the intermediate genotypes, Tokio rosa and Pasankalla reventona were the better with 2858.4 and 2118.4 kg ha-1, respectively. Whereas among the early genotypes, Tarpuna had the highest grain yield (3005.8 kg ha-1). Regarding seed diameter, only Huauzontle and Quinoa negra had a seed size equal to or smaller than 1.8 mm; the rest of the genotypes can be marketed as grains because of their seed size. Of the environments evaluated, the least favourable was Nanacamilpa 2019, while Santa Lucía de Prías 2019 was the most favourable environment. Overall, the performance of the evaluated genotypes was as expected, as they mostly come from the Inter-Andean Valleys region, which are very similar in altitude and temperature to the Central high-valley lands of Mexico.

Producción de miel de colonias Apis mellíferaseleccionadas y su relación conparámetros geográfico-ambientales de Jalisco: Producción de miel y parámetros ambientales-geográficos

The objective of the study was to relate the honey production of the selected Apis mellifera colonies with geographic-environmental parametersof southern Jalisco. The honey production of 9,169 colonies was measured, 352 were selected, those that produced more than 25 kg. The honey production of these colonies was 40.8  6.7 kg. In the mountain region, temperature was moderately negatively correlated with honey production (r = -0.448, P < 0.001) and moderately positive with rainfall (r = 0.448, P < 0.001). In the valleys region, altitude presented low negative correlation with honey production (r = -0.121) (P < 0.03), low positive correlation with temperature (r = 0.359, P < 0.001) and moderate correlation with rainfall (r = 0.630, P < 0.001). It is concluded that honey production, rainfall and environmental temperature are statistically related in southern Jalisco.

Geographical divide led inequality in accessing maternal healthcare services between hills and valley regions of Manipur state, India

Geographically, Manipur is composed of two sets of landmasses known as the valley and the hills districts. As compared to the valley districts, the hilly district is largely remained undeveloped and lack basic infrastructure and services like healthcare facilities, educational institutions, public distribution system, transportation, etc. Little is known about the differentials in the utilization of maternal healthcare services between the hills and the valley of Manipur state of India. The paper tries to understand the inequalities in accessing maternal healthcare services between the hills and valleys region. Logistic regression and concentration index was adopted to assess the utilization of maternal healthcare services. Results indicate low utilization of maternal healthcare services in the hilly region, with only 19%, 22%, and 21% have access to 4+ ANC visit, institutional delivery, and PNC visits respectively. The odds of utilizing 4+ ANC visits [Odds Ratio (OR): 0.47, Confidence Interval (C.I):0.26–0.82], Institutional delivery [OR: 0.42, C.I:0.28–0.62], and PNC visits [OR: 0.42, C.I:0.28–0.60] were less likely in the hilly region as compared to the valley region. Valley region indicates low inequality in accessing maternal healthcare services, however high inequality in accessing to institutional delivery and PNC visits was observed in the hilly region. Inequality is significantly higher in hilly areas (CIANC:0.276; CIinst.delivery:0.277; CIPNC: 0.206) than in valley regions (CIANC:0.070; CIinst.delivery 0.088; CIPNC: 0.081). Further, mother education, household wealth, and exposure to television are the main contributor to inequality. Better educational opportunities and economic activities may improve the utilization of maternal health services.

Vanda Station, Antarctica: a biography of the Anthropocene

This article uses the history of New Zealand�s Vanda Station in Antarctica as a case study of the inseparability of human history and environmental change in the age of the Anthropocene. Vanda Station was built in the late 1960s to promote New Zealand�s sovereignty claims to Antarctica and to promote scientific research in the predominantly ice-free McMurdo Dry Valleys region. Over the course of the 1970s and 1980s, the levels of the nearby Lake Vanda rose dramatically, and in the early 1990s the decision was taken to close the station. Rather than seeing the closure of Vanda simply as a consequence of the rising lake levels, this article suggests instead that it was the result of a number of interconnected social, political, scientific, and environmental factors. Although the concept of the Anthropocene is not unproblematic, a biographical approach to the history of Vanda Station can add depth and nuance to our understanding of the geological age of humans. In the McMurdo Dry Valleys, the �birth�, �life� and �death� of Vanda Station helps to demonstrate how the political status quo maintained itself through a partial adaptation to the new realities of the Anthropocene. This political adaptation, however, relies on maintaining human-nature dichotomies and resisting the full implications of viewing the region as an eco-social system.

Soil carbon stocks of semi-arid grasslands in northern Mexico

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is important, but research on SOC in Mexican semi-arid grasslands is limited. The objective of this research was to estimate SOC and develop an ecological model to predict soil carbon stocks (SCS) in the semi-arid grasslands of northern Mexico. Sites with different plant cover were selected along the Central Valleys region, and soil samples collected at two microsites (bare soil and beneath grass) at two depths (0–15 cm and 15–30 cm) and analysed for SOC. Plant cover, precipitation, temperature, soil texture and elevation were included as predictor variables to create a SCS prediction model through correlation and regression analyses. SOC varied from 0.465% ± 0.04 (mean ± s.e.m.) in low plant cover–sandy loam soil–low rainfall grasslands to 2.77% ± 0.29 in high plant cover–clay loam soil–high rainfall grasslands. The SOC was higher under grass than bare soil at all sites, while most sites showed similar SOC across soil depth. The prediction model integrated plant cover, mean annual precipitation, elevation and soil sand content (P &lt; 0.0001) as explanatory variables, and reasonably predicted SCS (R2 = 0.798) in semi-arid grasslands of northern Mexico. Our model can be used in grasslands with similar vegetation, climate and soil in northern Mexico, although extrapolation requires caution since further validation at different sites is required.

VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL DISTRIBUTION OF FORESTS IN UTTARAKHAND HIMALAYA: A GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS

Forests of Uttarakhand Himalaya are distributed vertically and horizontally. Their types and diversity vary according to climate and altitudes, the main drivers. This paper examines the vertical and horizontal distribution of forests in Uttarakhand Himalaya. Data was gathered from the secondary sources mainly from the Forest Survey of India 2005, 2011, and 2017. Forest density along with altitudinal gradient and horizontally was also analyzed. Our result shows that forest cover is high in the districts which are located in the mountainous mainland. In the meantime, the districts where the area under snow-clad is high, and which lie in the plain region, forest cover is less. In terms of altitude, the forest area below 3,000 m is less. Total forest area is 63% of the total area whereas forest cover is only 45%. Forest use is less in the highlands and its use is high in the middle altitudes and river valleys. The middle altitudes and the valleys region have a comparatively high population. Forest degradation has observed high in these locations. It is suggested that forest can optimally be used in the highlands and it can be conserved in and surrounding the rural and urban settlements.

Generación y caracterización básica de bagazos de la agroindustria del mezcal en Oaxaca

En Oaxaca, en 2019, se produjo 90.1% del mezcal certificado producido a nivel nacional, además de una cantidad desconocida de mezcal no certificado, que en su producción generan residuos, el bagazo el de mayor importancia. Aunque en Oaxaca actualmente es subutilizado, existen diversas investigaciones sobre su potencial, que han sido destinadas a la obtención de productos y metabolitos diversos de uso industrial. Se desconoce el dato exacto de la cantidad generada en los palenques y las características de estos; sin embargo, es información importante ya que es la base para establecer estrategias de manejo. En este trabajo, realizado en la región Valles Centrales de Oaxaca durante 2017, se presenta la caracterización básica de los residuos sólidos de la agroindustria del mezcal por especie utilizada, y se estiman coeficientes que pueden ser de aplicación general para la estimación rápida de la producción de estos residuos, y sirva como base para las estrategias de manejo. Se concluye que existen diferencias en las características de los residuos y la cantidad de bagazo generado entre las diferentes especies evaluadas.

Once again about the Ukrainian Folk Part Singing (the Types of Textural Structure)

Once again about the Ukrainian Folk Part Singing (the Types of Textural Structure)

Evidence for Pathways of Concentrated Submarine Groundwater Discharge in East Antarctica from Helicopter-Borne Electrical Resistivity Measurements

The Southern Ocean receives limited liquid surface water input from the Antarctic continent. It has been speculated, however, that significant liquid water may flow from beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet, and that this subglacial flow carries that water along with dissolved nutrients to the coast. The delivery of solutes, particularly limiting nutrients like bioavailable iron, to the Southern Ocean may contribute to ecosystem processes including primary productivity. Using a helicopter-borne time domain electromagnetic survey along the coastal margins of the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica, we detected subsurface connections between inland lakes, aquifers, and subglacial waters. These waters, which appear as electrically conductive anomalies, are saline and may contain high concentrations of biologically important ions, including iron and silica. Local hydraulic gradients may drive these waters to the coast, where we postulate they emerge as submarine groundwater discharge. This high latitude groundwater system, imaged regionally in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, may be representative of a broader system of Antarctic submarine groundwater discharge that fertilizes the Southern Ocean. In total, it has the potential to deliver tens of gigagrams of bioavailable Fe and Si to the coastal zone.

Modelled composition of cryogenically produced subglacial brines, Antarctica

Polar subglacial hydrologic systems have garnered much interest since the recognition of Lake Vostok in 1996. In Antarctica, these environments are hydrologically diverse, including isolated lakes of different sizes, river–lake flow-through systems, “swamps” and groundwater (Siegert 2016). The refreezing of subglacial meltwater is also an important process beneath a large portion of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (Bell et al. 2011). As subglacial water refreezes it exsolves salts, potentially leaving behind saline and hypersaline brines. Brines thought to derive from this cryoconcentration process have been observed in the northern polar permafrost regions and in the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs) region of Antarctica. Additionally, sediments in the Victoria Land Basin have diagenetic signatures produced by brine movement dating from 3–11 m.y.a, suggesting hypersaline brines have existed in the McMurdo region since at least this time (Staudigel et al. 2018).

La práctica cultural del bordado de San Antonio en Oaxaca - México

Desde niña he tenido interés por las actividades culturales en Oaxaca, el cual nació de observar el entusiasmo de mi madre y mi abuela por bailar sones, preparar delicias gastronómicas o asistir a misas de gallo. Aprendí de sus pies y manos. Viendo a través de sus ojos y sus memorias, fui creando mi concepción de Oaxaca y sus actividades artísticas, culturales y religiosas acercándome a conocer sus tradiciones y costumbres. Nací y crecí en su capital, los Valles Centrales, lugar en el que se creó la blusa y el vestido conocido como “de San Antonino”, prenda que se elabora de manera individual, familiar y colectiva. A partir de un proceso artesanal y de compartición de saberes, se tejen los hilos que construyen los dibujos de las ores en su diversidad de colores y que reejan las experiencias vividas y transmitidas de la comunidad. En este artículo me aboco a desentrañar esta práctica cultural de este bordado, por medio del cual las mujeres de esta región dan cuenta de sus sentires, saberes, cotidianidad e identidad.

Active faulting in the North Valleys region of Reno, Nevada: A distributed zone within the northern Walker Lane

At the latitude of Reno, Nevada, USA, ~15–25% of the Pacific/North American plate boundary strain is accommodated east of the Sierra Nevada through a combination of normal oblique (dextral) slip along the eastern Sierra Nevada range front and dextral slip along faults in the northern Walker Lane. The North Valleys region sits within the northern Walker Lane directly east of the Sierra range front and is characterized by a series of small north-striking basins bound by Quaternary active faults that accommodate dextral oblique extension. Geodetic studies of the North Valleys estimate that the faults collectively accommodate 0.9–1.7 mm/y of extension and <0.3 mm/y of dextral slip; however, few Quaternary geologic/paleoseismic studies have been conducted.In this paper, geologic observations on the tectonic geomorphic expression and relative activity of faults within and bounding the North Valleys are described, including the Last Chance, Petersen Mountain, Fred's Mountain, and Spanish Springs Valley fault zones, and several un-named faults in Lemmon and Hungry valleys. Geologic observations from the interpretation of lidar-derived hillshade images, aerial photographs, satellite imagery, and field reconnaissance indicate that the faults all exhibit evidence of late Quaternary deformation, including offset alluvial fan deposits and abrupt range-front escarpments. The results indicate that the faults of the North Valleys are capable seismic sources characterized by extension rates on the order of hundredths to tenths of millimeters per year. The faults act to transfer slip from the Sierra Nevada range front to the northeastern Walker Lane by accommodating dextral oblique extension consistent with pull-apart basin kinematics within a simple shear right-lateral system.

Innovación y competitividad del sistema lechero en Valles Centrales de Querétaro. Hacia un modelo de gobernanza territorial

Los objetivos del trabajo consisten en analizar las formas de organización productiva del sistema de lácteos de la región Valles Centrales en Querétaro y reconocer las distintas modalidades de gobernanza que se han construido a partir de la interacción de agentes productivos y de sus incidencias organizativas territoriales. La metodología parte del enfoque milieux innovateurs que permite documentar los efectos del proceso de cambio tecnológico del sistema lácteo respecto del sistema lechero y analizar la competitividad territorial mediante la evaluación de los impactos en el nivel de eficiencia con el cual las empresas combinan sus recursos humanos, tecnológicos y de capital en el ámbito regional. El cuestionamiento general que rige la investigación es: ¿Qué concesiones (ventajas, privilegios, beneficios) han construido los actores de este territorio para desplegar procesos de cambio tecnológico efectivos en la competitividad del sistema lácteo regional? Como resultado se encontró que la principal consecuencia de las interacciones locales en torno a la lechería en Querétaro responde a las estrategias del nivel global más que a una visión de desarrollo regional, no obstante poseer este territorio vocación cultural, natural y manifestarse como un medio innovador. La limitación principal se debió a la insuficiente información sobre la organización interna de las grandes empresas del conglomerado estudiado. Las conclusiones señalan cómo el aprovechamiento disímil de los recursos naturales y del potencial humano han redefinido los patrones de especialización lechera y han coadyuvado a concentrar la renta del suelo en un grupo selecto de actores del territorio en estudio.

The influence of föhn winds on Glacial Lake Washburn and palaeotemperatures in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, during the Last Glacial Maximum

AbstractLarge glacial lakes, including Glacial Lake Washburn, were present in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) despite a colder and drier climate. To address the mechanism capable of generating enough meltwater to sustain these large lakes, a conceptual model was developed based on the warming potential of infrequent contemporary föhn winds. The model suggests that föhn winds were capable of generating enough meltwater to sustain large glacial lakes during the LGM by increasing degree days above freezing (DDAF) and prolonging the melt season. A present-day relationship between infrequent summer föhn winds and DDAF was established. It is assumed that the Taylor Dome ice core record represents large-scale palaeoclimatic variations for the McMurdo Dry Valleys region. This analysis suggests that because of the warming influence of the more frequent föhn winds, summer DDAF in the McMurdo Dry Valleys during the LGM were equivalent to present-day values, but this enhanced summer signal is not preserved in the annually averaged ice core temperature record.

An early to middle Miocene record of ice-sheet and landscape evolution from the Friis Hills, Antarctica

The Friis Hills (77°45′S, 161°30′E), in the McMurdo Dry Valleys region, Antarctica, is a 1-km-high inselberg with early to middle Miocene–aged glacial deposits preserved on its upper surface. Lithology, sedimentology, and ice-flow direction define three units within a 34-m-thick sequence: the Friis I, Friis II, and Cavendish drifts. Tills in Friis I drift were deposited from alpine glaciers flowing to the SW. An extensive tephra bed in the drift is 19.76 ± 0.11 Ma in age based on 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating. Tills in Friis II drift were deposited from alpine glaciers flowing to the SE. Fossiliferous fluvial and lacustrine beds in the drift indicate that vegetation and insects repeatedly recolonized the Friis Hills during periods of reduced ice. The geographic distribution of modern descendants of the fossils specifies mean summer temperatures of 6–7 °C and precipitation as much as 3000 mm during these interglacial periods. The presence of fossils also indicates deposition of Friis II drift occurred before the mid-Miocene climate transition ca. 14.1 Ma. After this, eastward-flowing ice partially eroded the Friis I and II drifts. The ice also cut parallel troughs to the N and S, topographically isolating the Friis Hills. The Cavendish drift represents renewed deposition but from eastward-flowing outlet glaciers within the newly established troughs. Together, the Friis Hills drifts register multiple stages in the evolution of the East Antarctic cryosphere, including the general growth of the system, reorganizations of glacial drainage patterns, and periods of major downcutting. Importantly, they also provide constraints on terrestrial climate conditions during these stages. The Friis Hills record is the first that can be directly compared with shallow-marine records from the Ross Sea. The record also provides new constraints for paleoglaciological models of the early East Antarctic Ice Sheet. Based on lithologic and geomorphic arguments, the Friis Hills drifts are younger than nearby Sirius Group tillites, which predicates that the Sirius Group in the Dry Valleys region is at least early Miocene, or more probably, Oligocene in age.