Resistance to the deinstitutionalization of a region: Borders,identity and activism in a municipality merger

Regions are contested processes in which various layers of borders become articulated, deconstructed and reconstructed by both activists and advocates. While many scholars currently tend to highlight the relational character of spaces, this study – acknowledging that seeing regions as relational or territorial is a highly contextual matter – emphasizes the territorial approach by stressing the multiple layers of borders and how they help to constitute and nurture regional identity. Focusing on deinstitutionalization of a region, it is argued here that regional restructuring can trigger activism, as proved by the activist movement at issue in the case study. This case study of a merger between two municipalities in Finland illustrates that when threatened with integration, (old) regions seem to be of especial importance as bordered territories of identification.     

Modeling Fine‐Scale Geological Heterogeneity—Examples of Sand Lenses in Tills

Sand lenses at various spatial scales are recognized to add heterogeneity to glacial sediments. They have high hydraulic conductivities relative to the surrounding till matrix and may affect the advective transport of water and contaminants in clayey till settings. Sand lenses were investigated on till outcrops producing binary images of geological cross‐sections capturing the size, shape and distribution of individual features. Sand lenses occur as elongated, anisotropic geobodies that vary in size and extent. Besides, sand lenses show strong non‐stationary patterns on section images that hamper subsequent simulation. Transition probability (TP) and multiple‐point statistics (MPS) were employed to simulate sand lens heterogeneity. We used one cross‐section to parameterize the spatial correlation and a second, parallel section as a reference: it allowed testing the quality of the simulations as a function of the amount of conditioning data under realistic conditions. The performance of the simulations was evaluated on the faithful reproduction of the specific geological structure caused by sand lenses. Multiple‐point statistics offer a better reproduction of sand lens geometry. However, two‐dimensional training images acquired by outcrop mapping are of limited use to generate three‐dimensional realizations with MPS. One can use a technique that consists in splitting the 3D domain into a set of slices in various directions that are sequentially simulated and reassembled into a 3D block. The identification of flow paths through a network of elongated sand lenses and the impact on the equivalent permeability in tills are essential to perform solute transport modeling in the low‐permeability sediments.     

Multipurpose geochemical maps produced by integration of geochemical exploration data sets in The Paraná Shield, Brazil

Old geochemical datasets from the Paraná Shield of southern Brazil have been integrated into a new geochemical database and the results are presented as a series of multipurpose geochemical maps. Although the 24 datasets retrieved were analysed by three different laboratories, the maps produced correlate surprisingly well with bedrock geological features.The retrieval of old geochemical exploration data sets for the purpose of generating maps showing element depletions and enrichments is a powerful tool with a wide range of applications: trace elements such as Zn, Cu and Mo can significantly affect crop productivity; areas with high abundances of harmful elements such as As and F can be delineated in order to identify public health hazards; heavy metals such as Cd, Pb and Hg can be measured in order to better constrain knowledge of chemical background levels for environmental monitoring. The integration and manipulation of different data sets can however be complicated by the heterogeneity in sampling and analytical procedures.     

Foreword

正Rapid changes of Arctic sea ice cover have been in the focus of the international climate research community in recent years.Quite a few of nations have completed a large number of related surveys and research projects in the Arctic Ocean.Up to now,China has performed six research cruises to the Arctic Ocean resulting in a significant volume of research output.Improved knowledge on the atmospheree-sea ice-ocean interactions in the Arctic is a     

Footprints and Fetches for Fluxes over Forest Canopies with Varying Structure and Density

A stochastic trajectory model was used to estimate scalar fluxfootprints in neutral stabilityfor canopies of varying leaf area distributions andleaf area indices. An analytical second-order closure model wasused to predict mean wind speed, second moments and the dissipationrate of turbulent kinetic energy within a forest canopy.The influence of source vertical profile on the flux footprint wasexamined. The fetch is longer for surface sourcesthan for sources at higher levels in the canopy. In order tomeasure all the flux components, and thus the total flux, with adesired accuracy, sources were located at the forest floor in thefootprint function estimation. The footprint functions werecalculated for five observation levels above the canopy top. Itwas found that at low observation heights both canopy density andcanopy structure affect the fetch. The higher abovethe canopy top the flux is measured, the more pronounced is the effectof the canopy structure. The forest fetch for flux measurements isstrongly dependent on the required accuracy: The 90% flux fetchis greater by a factor of two or more compared to the 75% fetch. Theupwind distance contributing 75% of flux is as large as 45 timesthe difference between canopy height and the observation heightabove the canopy top, being even larger for low observationlevels.     

基于中国北极考察布放浮标观测和数值模拟的海冰和积雪厚度变化分析

Sea ice and the snow pack on top of it were investigated using Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition(CHINARE) buoy data.Two polar hydrometeorological drifters,known as Zeno? ice stations,were deployed during CHINARE 2003.A new type of high-resolution Snow and Ice Mass Balance Arrays,known as SIMBA buoys,were deployed during CHINARE 2014.Data from those buoys were applied to investigate the thickness of sea ice and snow in the CHINARE domain.A simple approach was applied to estimate the average snow thickness on the basis of Zeno~ temperature data.Snow and ice thicknesses were also derived from vertical temperature profile data based on the SIMBA buoys.A one-dimensional snow and ice thermodynamic model(HIGHTSI) was applied to calculate the snow and ice thickness along the buoy drift trajectories.The model forcing was based on forecasts and analyses of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts(ECMWF).The Zeno~ buoys drifted in a confined area during 2003–2004.The snow thickness modelled applying HIGHTSI was consistent with results based on Zeno~ buoy data.The SIMBA buoys drifted from 81.1°N,157.4°W to 73.5°N,134.9°W in 15 months during2014–2015.The total ice thickness increased from an initial August 2014 value of 1.97 m to a maximum value of2.45 m before the onset of snow melt in May 2015;the last observation was approximately 1 m in late November2015.The ice thickness based on HIGHTSI agreed with SIMBA measurements,in particular when the seasonal variation of oceanic heat flux was taken into account,but the modelled snow thickness differed from the observed one.Sea ice thickness derived from SIMBA data was reasonably good in cold conditions,but challenges remain in both snow and ice thickness in summer.     

Direct Numerical Simulation of a Turbulent Channel Flow with Forchheimer Drag

Boundary-Layer Meteorology - We characterize the turbulent flow, using direct numerical simulations (DNS), within a closed channel between two parallel walls with a canopy of constant areal density...     

Post-Impulsive-Phase Acceleration in a Wide Range of Solar Longitudes

We have analyzed five solar energetic particle (SEP) events observed aboard the SOHO spacecraft during 1996–1997. All events were associated with impulsive soft X-ray flares, Type II radio bursts and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Most attention is concentrated on the SEP acceleration during the first 100 minutes after the flare impulsive phase, post-impulsive-phase acceleration, being observed in eruptions centered at different solar longitudes. As a representative pattern of a (nearly) well-connected event, we consider the west flare and CME of 9 July 1996 (S10 W30). Similarities and dissimilarities of the post-impulsive-phase acceleration at large heliocentric-angle distance from the eruption center are illustrated with the 24 September 1997 event (S31 E19). We conclude that the proton acceleration at intermediate scales, between flare acceleration and interplanetary CME-driven shock acceleration, significantly contributes to the production of ≳10 MeV protons. This post-impulsive-phase acceleration seems to be caused by the CME lift-off.     

Environmental literacy in interpreting endangered sustainability: Case studies from Thailand and the Sudan

This paper examines how people explain reasons and impacts of environmental change in the low-rain savanna of the central Sudan and mountainous forest lands of northern Thailand. The explanations are analyzed by using the concept of environmental literacy, which refers to the people’s ability to grasp the environment and its interactions. The paper aims to study people’s conceptions of the environment, which compose one factor in directing their behavior. For the study, rural inhabitants in the State of North Kordofan, the Sudan, and the Chiang Mai Province in Thailand were interviewed.It was noted that an individual’s capability to understand the environment is alone insufficient to address environmental problems because the efficient alleviation of the problems requires collective actions at all levels, and because of factors beyond an individual’s control. However, the results supported the assumption that the local people have knowledge of their environment that may help in developing sustainable environmental management practices. The main advantages of using the environmental literacy concept are argued to be its dynamic and synthetic essence, its link to sustainable behavior, and wide applicability in various contexts within heterogeneous communities.     

Carbon balance in the forest sector in Finland during 1990–2039

In this study we estimated the amount of carbon (C) stored in the forest growing stock and in wood-based products, and the C-sequestration capacity of the forest sector in Finland. Comparison of different management and utilization options for forest resources over the period 1990-2039 indicates that C is stored more efficiently in standing timber than in wood-based products. This implies that an appropriate increase in the length of the rotation in forestry could be optimal for balancing the needs of forest resources for C sequestration and timber production. Increased use of wood, based on sustainable use of forest resources, to substitute for fossil fuels and materials, could decrease the overall C emissions. Release of sequestered C back to the atmosphere can be delayed by prolonging product lifespans, by increasing recycling, or by disposing of discarded products in landfills. To delay C release, and affect the C balance, however, these changes should be substantial.In 1990, the net C balance of the growing stemwood stock was 5.5 Tg C/a, which increased to 16.3 Tg C/a by 2039 if in the future the use of wood would be at the level of the late 1980s. Increased use of wood resulted in a balance of 6.6 Tg C/a or -0.2 Tg C/a, depending on the extent of the use of wood. The average C balance in wood products for the whole period was 3.9, 5.6 or 6.6 Tg C/a, respectively. Changes in production capacity, and consideration of timber and product import and export decreased the average balance from 6.6 Tg C/a to 0.9–1.3 Tg C/a. By comparison, emission from the use of fossil fuels in 1990 C was 14.5 Tg C/a.