A high resolution (3–8 km grid), 3D numerical ocean model of the West Caribbean Sea (WCS) is used to investigate the variability
and the forcing of flows near the Meso-American Barrier Reef System (MBRS) which runs along the coasts of Mexico, Belize,
Guatemala and Honduras. Mesoscale variations in velocity and temperature along the reef were found in seasonal model simulations
and in observations; these variations are associated with meandering of the Caribbean current (CC) and the propagation of
Caribbean eddies. Diagnostic calculations and a simple assimilation technique are combined to infer the dynamically adjusted
flow associated with particular eddies. The results demonstrate that when a cyclonic eddy (negative sea surface height anomaly
(SSHA)) is found near the MBRS the CC shifts offshore, the cyclonic circulation in the Gulf of Honduras (GOH) intensifies,
and a strong southward flow results along the reef. However, when an anticyclonic eddy (positive SSHA) is found near the reef,
the CC moves onshore and the flow is predominantly westward across the reef. The model results help to explain how drifters
are able to propagate in a direction opposite to the mean circulation when eddies cause a reversal of the coastal circulation.
The effect of including the Meso-American Lagoon west of the Belize Reef in the model topography was also investigated, to
show the importance of having accurate coastal topography in determining the variations of transports across the MBRS. The
variations found in transports across the MBRS (on seasonal and mesoscale time scales) may have important consequences for
biological activities along the reef such as spawning aggregations; better understanding the nature of these variations will
help ongoing efforts in coral reef conservation and maintaining the health of the ecosystem in the region. 相似文献
This study examines the hypothesis that poor households engage in less sustainable soil management practices than rich households in a similar socioeconomic environment. This broad objective is explored in Mali's southern cotton belt through three specific research questions. First, is there empirical evidence to support the claim that poor households engage in less sustainable soil management practices than rich households? Second, what local and extra-local factors influence household agricultural management approaches in southern Mali? Third, what broader scale political and economic processes are linked to the factors that influence local-level agricultural management approaches? The author reports that soil quality measures on the farms of rich and poor households are not significantly different, refuting the conventional wisdom that the wealthy are better managers of the environment. A variety of environmentally deleterious practices are associated with export-oriented cotton production, an activity more vigorously pursued by wealthy than poor farmers. Finally, the focus on poverty in international environment and development discourse has allowed the government of Mali to avoid a serious debate on the sustainability of cotton production. The study's findings are based on household interviews describing agricultural management practices, an analysis of farm field soil measures, and discussions with donors and national policymakers. 相似文献
The EPIC (Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator) crop model, developed by scientists of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), has been successfully applied to the study of erosion, water pollution, crop growth and production in the US but is yet to be introduced for serious research purposes in other countries or regions. This paper reports on the applicability of the EPIC 8120 crop model for the assessment of the potential impacts of climate variability and climate change on crop productivity in sub‐Saharan West Africa, using Nigeria as the case study. Among the crops whose productivity has been successfully simulated with this model are five of West Africa's staple food crops: maize, millet, sorghum (guinea corn), rice and cassava. Thus, using the model, the sensitivities of maize, sorghum and millet to seasonal rainfall were demonstrated with coefficients of correlation significant at over 98 per cent confidence limits. The validation tests were based on a comparison of the observed and the model‐generated yields of rice and maize. The main problems of validation relate to the multiplicity of crop varieties with contrasting performances under similar field conditions. There are also the difficulties in representing micro‐environments in the model. Thus, some gaps appear between the observed and the simulated yields, arising from data or model deficiencies, or both. Based on the results of the sensitivity and validation tests, the EPIC crop model could be satisfactorily employed in assessing the impacts of and adaptations to climate variability and climate change. Its use for the estimation of production and the assessment of vulnerabilities need to be pursued with further field surveys and field experimentation. 相似文献
Classifications of large-scale landscapes in Greenland have traditionally been based on type and intensity of glacial erosion, with the general idea that present landforms are mainly the result of erosion from ice sheets and glaciers. However, on southern Disko and in areas offshore in Disko Bugt, a basement surface has preserved remnants of weathered gneiss and pre-Paleocene landforms, recently exhumed from Paleocene basalt. Isolated hills and lineaments have been mapped in a digital terrain model and aerial photographs. Offshore have hills been mapped from seismic lines. The medium size bedrock forms on southern Disko as tors, clefts and roche moutonées have been studied in the field. Remnant saprolites were inventoried, sampled and analysed according to grain size and clay mineralogy. The basement surface retains saprolites up to 8 m thick in close relation to the cover rocks. The landforms in the basement rocks belong essentially to an etched surface only slightly remodelled by glacial erosion and, below the highest coastline, also by wave action. The outline of hills is governed by two lineament directions, ENE–WSW representing the schistocity of the gneiss and NW–SE fracture zones. These structures are thus interpreted to have been exploited by the deep weathering while the frequent N–S lineaments have not and thus might be younger. Main ice-flow has been from the NE and has resulted in plucking of SW facing lee sides, however the resulting bedrock forms are mainly controlled by structures and orientation of joints. The identification of re-exposed sub-Paleocene etch forms on Disko and the hills of similar size offshore, forming a hilly relief, have implications for identification of a hilly relief south of Disko Bugt, its relation to younger planation surfaces as well as for conclusions of uplift events. 相似文献
A thick sequence of mafic-ultramafic rocks, occurs along a major shear zone (Phulad lineament), running across the length of Aravalli Mountain Range for about 300 kms. It has been suggested, that this sequence may represent a fragment of ophiolite or a rift related metavolcanic suite made up of basalts and fractionated ultramafics. The geological and tectonic significance of the complex is assessed using field relationships, petrography and geochemistry. Structurally, the lowest part of the complex comprises a discontinuous band of plastically deformed harzburgite (mantle component) followed by layered cumulus gabbroic rocks (crustal component). A complex of non-cumulus rocks comprising hornblende schists, gabbros, sheeted dykes and pillowed basalts structurally overlies layered gabbros. Huge bodies of diorite intrude volcanics.
Geochemical classification suggests that all non-cumulus mafic rocks are sub-alkaline basalts except one variety of dykes which shows mildly alkaline character. The sub-alkaline rocks are tholeiite to calc-alkaline with boninite affinity. Tectono-magmatic variation diagrams and MORB normalised patterns suggest a fore arc tectonic regime for the eruption of these rocks.
The mafic rocks of Phulad Ophiolite Suite are zoned across the strike in terms of their distribution from west to east. The hornblende schists and basalts are exposed at the westernmost margin followed by gabbros and dykes. The alkaline dyke occurs at the easternmost part. The rocks of Phulad suite are juxtaposed with shallow water sediments in the east followed by platformal sediments and then continental slope sediments in the further east indicating gradual thickening of the crust from west to east and an eastward subduction. The geochemical interpretation presented in this study, together with discussion of lithological association is used to decipher the tectonic evolution of the Mesoproterozoics of NW Indian shield. 相似文献
This paper attempts to determine the impact of former Pb-Zn-Ba mining activities in Slovenian drainage basin on overbank sediments of the Sava river (West Croatia). Among the four studied sequences (S7, S8, S9, S10), the most upstream profile S7 showed the most pronounced impact of ore mining. Mercury was enriched more than 100-fold; Pb and Zn had a strong positive correlation (r > 0.99). Two factor models clearly revealed the Pb-Ba-Hg association in the lower-lying carbonate (CA) population of all four profiles, but only in the overlying silicate (SI) population of profile S7. Factor analysis confirmed this association in the total sediment (90 samples) as well as separately in the CA (33 samples) and SI (57 samples) populations. Based on a comparison with an undisturbed soil profile, the vertical distribution of 137Cs in profile S7 was interpreted to be the combination of caesium deposition caused by a flood in 1964 and by post-depositional redistribution. 相似文献
It is universally accepted that the need for defining precise lines of separation and points of contacts between states is the byproduct of the emergence of nation-states and ‘world economy’ in the 19th century Europe. Nevertheless, it is hard to overlook the fact that these modern notions are rooted in periods prior to the emergence in Europe of nation-states. There are indications that ancient civilizations were familiar with the notion of ‘state’ in connection with the concepts of territory and boundary. Ancient texts reveal that this basic principle existed in ancient Persian literature in respect of matters of state, territory, and boundary. Similarly, the likelihood exists that these Persian notions could have influenced Roman civilization. It is widely believed that a combination of ancient Greco-Roman and Persian civilizations is a major contributor to what culturally constitutes ‘West’. Later in the Sassanid period the inter-linked notions of state, territory, and boundary developed substantially, coming quite close to their contemporary forms. On the other hand, considering that ‘justice’ was the corner stone of ancient Persian Political philosophy, the idea that ancient Persian spatial arrangement might have contributed to the evolution of the concept of democracy in the West may not be too difficult to contemplate. 相似文献