The Big Questions in Geography   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Susan L. Cutter  Reginald Golledge  William L. Graf 《The Professional geographer》2002,54(3):305-317

In noting his fondness for geography, John Noble Wilford, science correspondent for The New York Times, nevertheless challenged the discipline to articulate those big questions in our field, ones that would generate public interest, media attention, and the respect of policymakers. This article presents our collective judgments on those significant issues that warrant disciplinary research. We phrase these as a series of ten questions in the hopes of stimulating a dialogue and collective research agenda for the future and the next generation of geographic professionals.  相似文献   

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Alyssa J. Serlet  Angela M. Gurnell  Guido Zolezzi  Geraldene Wharton  Philippe Belleudy  Camille Jourdain 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2018,43(9):i-i

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Biomorphodynamics of alternate bars in a channelized,regulated river: An integrated historical and modelling analysis          下载免费PDF全文

Alyssa J. Serlet  Angela M. Gurnell  Guido Zolezzi  Geraldene Wharton  Philippe Belleudy  Camille Jourdain 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2018,43(9):1739-1756

The development of alternate bars in channelized rivers can be explained theoretically as an instability of the riverbed when the active channel width to depth ratio exceeds a threshold. However, the development of a vegetation cover on the alternate bars of some channelized rivers and its interactions with bar morphology have not been investigated in detail. Our study focused on the co‐evolution of alternate bars and vegetation along a 33 km reach of the Isère River, France. We analysed historical information to investigate the development of alternate bars and their colonization by vegetation within a straightened, embanked river subject to flow regulation, sediment mining, and vegetation management. Over an 80 year period, bar density decreased, bar length increased, and bar mobility slowed. Vegetation encroachment across bar surfaces accompanied these temporal changes and, once established, vegetation cover persisted, shifting the overall system from an unvegetated to a vegetated dynamic equilibrium state. The unvegetated morphodynamics of the impressively regular sequence of alternate bars that developed in the Isère following channelization is consistent with previous theoretical morphodynamic work. However, the apparent triggering dynamics of vegetation colonization needs to be investigated, based on complex biophysical instability processes. If instability related to vegetation colonization is confirmed, further work needs to focus on the relevance of initial conditions for this instability, and on related feedback effects such as how the morphodynamics of bare‐sediment alternate bars may have affected vegetation development and, in turn, how vegetation has created a new dynamic equilibrium state. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Bulk organic δC and C/N as indicators for sediment sources in the Pearl River delta and estuary,southern China     

Fengling Yu  Yongqiang Zong  Jeremy M. Lloyd  Guangqing Huang  Melanie J. Leng  Christopher Kendrick  Angela L. Lamb  Wyss W.-S. Yim 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》2010

Preservation of organic matter in estuarine and coastal areas is an important process in the global carbon cycle. This paper presents bulk δ¹³C and C/N of organic matter from source to sink in the Pearl River catchment, delta and estuary, and discusses the applicability of δ¹³C and C/N as indicators for sources of organic matter in deltaic and estuarine sediments. In addition to the 91 surface sediment samples, other materials collected in this study cover the main sources of organic material to estuarine sediment. These are: terrestrial organic matter (TOM), including plants and soil samples from the catchment; estuarine and marine suspended particulate organic carbon (POC) from both summer and winter. Results show that the average δ¹³C of estuarine surface sediment increases from −25.0 ± 1.3‰ in the freshwater environment to −21.0 ± 0.2‰ in the marine environment, with C/N decreasing from 15.2 ± 3.3 to 6.8 ± 0.2. In the source areas, C₃ plants have lower δ¹³C than C₄ plants (−29.0 ± 1.8‰ and −13.1 ± 0.5‰ respectively). δ¹³C increases from −28.3 ± 0.8‰ in the forest soil to around −24.1‰ in both riverbank soil and mangrove soil due to increasing proportion of C₄ grasses. The δ¹³C_POC increases from −27.6 ± 0.8‰ in the freshwater areas to −22.4 ± 0.5‰ in the marine-brackish-water areas in winter, and ranges between −24.0‰ in freshwater areas and −25.4‰ in brackish-water areas in summer. Comparison of the δ¹³C and C/N between the sources and sink indicates a weakening TOM and freshwater POC input in the surface sedimentary organic matter seawards, and a strengthening contribution from the marine organic matter. Thus we suggest that bulk organic δ¹³C and C/N analysis can be used to indicate sources of sedimentary organic matter in estuarine environments. Organic carbon in surface sediments derived from anthropogenic sources such as human waste and organic pollutants from industrial and agricultural activities accounts for less than 10% of the total organic carbon (TOC). Although results also indicate elevated δ¹³C of sedimentary organic matter due to some agricultural products such as sugarcane, C₃ plants are still the dominant vegetation type in this area, and the bulk organic δ¹³C and C/N is still an effective indicator for sources of organic matter in estuarine sediments.  相似文献   

The dual isotopes of deep nitrate as a constraint on the cycle and budget of oceanic fixed nitrogen   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Daniel M. Sigman  Peter J. DiFiore  Mathis P. Hain  Curtis Deutsch  Yi Wang  David M. Karl  Angela N. Knapp  Moritz F. Lehmann  Silvio Pantoja 《Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers》2009,56(9):1419-1439

We compare the output of an 18-box geochemical model of the ocean with measurements to investigate the controls on both the mean values and variation of nitrate δ¹⁵N and δ¹⁸O in the ocean interior. The δ¹⁸O of nitrate is our focus because it has been explored less in previous work. Denitrification raises the δ¹⁵N and δ¹⁸O of mean ocean nitrate by equal amounts above their input values for N₂ fixation (for δ¹⁵N) and nitrification (for δ¹⁸O), generating parallel gradients in the δ¹⁵N and δ¹⁸O of deep ocean nitrate. Partial nitrate assimilation in the photic zone also causes equivalent increases in the δ¹⁵N and δ¹⁸O of the residual nitrate that can be transported into the interior. However, the regeneration and nitrification of sinking N can be said to decouple the N and O isotopes of deep ocean nitrate, especially when the sinking N is produced in a low latitude region, where nitrate consumption is effectively complete. The δ¹⁵N of the regenerated nitrate is equivalent to that originally consumed, whereas the regeneration replaces nitrate previously elevated in δ¹⁸O due to denitrification or nitrate assimilation with nitrate having the δ¹⁸O of nitrification. This lowers the δ¹⁸O of mean ocean nitrate and weakens nitrate δ¹⁸O gradients in the interior relative to those in δ¹⁵N. This decoupling is characterized and quantified in the box model, and agreement with data shows its clear importance in the real ocean. At the same time, the model appears to generate overly strong gradients in both δ¹⁸O and δ¹⁵N within the ocean interior and a mean ocean nitrate δ¹⁸O that is higher than measured. This may be due to, in the model, too strong an impact of partial nitrate assimilation in the Southern Ocean on the δ¹⁵N and δ¹⁸O of preformed nitrate and/or too little cycling of intermediate-depth nitrate through the low latitude photic zone.  相似文献   

Improving the Abel transform inversion using bending angles from FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC   总被引：2，自引：1，他引：1  

Angela Aragon-Angel  Manuel Hernandez-Pajares  J. Miguel Juan Zornoza  Jaume Sanz Subirana 《GPS Solutions》2010,14(1):23-33

The FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC satellite constellation has become an important tool toward providing global remote sensing data for sounding of the atmosphere of the earth and the ionosphere in particular. In this study, the electron density profiles are derived using the Abel transform inversion. Some drawbacks of this transform in LEO GPS sounding can be overcome by considering the separability concept: horizontal gradients of vertical total electron content (VTEC) information are incorporated by the inversion method, providing more accurate electron density determinations. The novelty presented in this paper with respect to previous works is the use of the phase change between the GPS transmitter and the LEO receiver as the main observable instead of the ionospheric combination of carrier phase observables for the implementation of separability in the inversion process. Some of the characteristics of the method when applied to the excess phase are discussed. The results obtained show the equivalence of both approaches but the method exposed in this work has the potentiality to be applied to the neutral atmosphere. Recent FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC data have been processed with both the classical Abel inversion and the separability approach and evaluated versus colocated ionosonde data.  相似文献   

Investigation of the protein osteocalcin of Camelops hesternus: Sequence, structure and phylogenetic implications     

James F. Humpula  Hasand Gandhi  Angela K. Walker  James J. Smith  R. George Corner 《Geochimica et cosmochimica acta》2007,71(24):5956-5967

Ancient DNA sequences offer an extraordinary opportunity to unravel the evolutionary history of ancient organisms. Protein sequences offer another reservoir of genetic information that has recently become tractable through the application of mass spectrometric techniques. The extent to which ancient protein sequences resolve phylogenetic relationships, however, has not been explored. We determined the osteocalcin amino acid sequence from the bone of an extinct Camelid (21 ka, Camelops hesternus) excavated from Isleta Cave, New Mexico and three bones of extant camelids: bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus); dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) and guanaco (Llama guanacoe) for a diagenetic and phylogenetic assessment. There was no difference in sequence among the four taxa. Structural attributes observed in both modern and ancient osteocalcin include a post-translation modification, Hyp₉, deamidation of Gln₃₅ and Gln₃₉, and oxidation of Met₃₆. Carbamylation of the N-terminus in ancient osteocalcin may result in blockage and explain previous difficulties in sequencing ancient proteins via Edman degradation.A phylogenetic analysis using osteocalcin sequences of 25 vertebrate taxa was conducted to explore osteocalcin protein evolution and the utility of osteocalcin sequences for delineating phylogenetic relationships. The maximum likelihood tree closely reflected generally recognized taxonomic relationships. For example, maximum likelihood analysis recovered rodents, birds and, within hominins, the Homo-Pan-Gorilla trichotomy. Within Artiodactyla, character state analysis showed that a substitution of Pro₄ for His₄ defines the Capra-Ovis clade within Artiodactyla. Homoplasy in our analysis indicated that osteocalcin evolution is not a perfect indicator of species evolution. Limited sequence availability prevented assigning functional significance to sequence changes. Our preliminary analysis of osteocalcin evolution represents an initial step towards a complete character analysis aimed at determining the evolutionary history of this functionally significant protein. We emphasize that ancient protein sequencing and phylogenetic analyses using amino acid sequences must pay close attention to post-translational modifications, amino acid substitutions due to diagenetic alteration and the impacts of isobaric amino acids on mass shifts and sequence alignments.  相似文献   

Modified multirevolution integration methods for satellite orbit computation     

O. F. Graf  D. G. Bettis 《Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy》1975,11(4):433-448

Multirevolution methods allow for the computation of satellite orbits in steps spanning many revolutions. The methods previously discussed in the literature are based on polynomial approximations, and as a result they will integrate exactly (excluding round-off errors) polynomial functions of a discrete independent variable. Modified methods are derived that will integrate exactly products of linear and periodic functions. Numerical examples are given that show that these new methods provide better accuracy for certain satellite problems. It is also shown that information obtained from an approximate analytical solution of the satellite equations of motion, may be used to increase the accuracy and/or efficiency of the multirevolution integration.  相似文献   

The height of 9.1 cm solar emission from latitude shift     

W. Graf  R. N. Bracewell 《Solar physics》1973,28(2):425-433

Active regions that are sources of microwave solar emission should appear displaced in latitude relative to the associated optical feature and from this displacement it should be possible to deduce the height. Although the displacement is only about one-third of a min of arc at the most, it was found possible, in an investigation based on 1264 cases in 1970, to obtain a height with a precision as good as or better than has generally been achieved in previous studies based on the rate of motion in longitude. This success could be due to the possibility of using large quantities of data or to tolerance of the method to both terrestrial atmospheric refraction and proper motion in heliographic longitude. The result obtained for 1970 was 18000 ± 5000 km (standard deviation). Application of the latitude method at other wavelengths would be desirable.  相似文献   

II: Wind related errors in different methods of solid precipitation measurement     

Th. Günther  B. Graf 《水文研究》1991,5(3):233-241

Using data sets assembled within the WMO Solid Precipitation Measurement Intercomparison, the paper deals with the wind related losses in national methods of solid precipitation measurement. Fourteen different types of precipitation gauges are included in the Harzgerode/GDR intercomparison field. Initial results of the comparisons between the Valdai double fence reference method and the other gauges in terms of dependence on wind speed and type of precipitation are presented. These results reveal that the national unsheltered HELLMANN gauge catches only 24 per cent to 70 per cent of the daily totals of solid precipitation as compared with the reference gauge. Results of the analysis of monthly totals and individual events reveal a similar dependence of gauge deficiencies on wind speed and type of precipitation. Case studies of single snow falls and the wind field conditions around and within the double fence reference are also described.  相似文献