Tertiary teaching excellence: The CETLs scheme in England     

Brian Chalkley 《New Zealand geographer》2006,62(2):155-157

Abstract:  This article describes the establishment of Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETLs) by the Higher Education Funding Council in England. It outlines this approach to enhancing effective university teaching and learning and discusses four CETLs that are closely related to university geography departments and dedicated to the themes of active learning, spatial literacy, experiential learning and education for sustainable development.  相似文献   

Magmatic changes during the stabilisation of a cordilleran fold belt: the Late Carboniferous–Triassic igneous history of eastern New South Wales, Australia     

Graziella Caprarelli  Evan C. Leitch 《Lithos》1998,45(1-4):413-430

In a 60 Ma interval between the Late Carboniferous and the Late Permian, the magmatic arc associated with the cordilleran-type New England Fold Belt in northeast New South Wales shifted eastward and changed in trend from north–northwest to north. The eastern margin of the earlier (Devonian–Late Carboniferous) arc is marked by a sequence of calcalkaline lava flows, tuffs and coarse volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks preserved in the west of the Fold Belt. The younger arc (Late Permian–Triassic) is marked by I-type calcalkaline granitoids and comagmatic volcanic rocks emplaced mostly in the earlier forearc, but extending into the southern Sydney Basin, in the former backarc region. The growth of the younger arc was accompanied by widespread compressional deformation that stabilised the New England Fold Belt. During the transitional interval, two suites of S-type granitoids were emplaced, the Hillgrove Suite at about 305 Ma during an episode of compressive deformation and regional metamorphism, and the Bundarra Suite at about 280 Ma, during the later stages of an extensional episode. Isotopic and REE data indicate that both suites resulted from the partial melting of young silicic sedimentary rocks, probably part of the Carboniferous accretionary subduction complex, with heat supplied by the rise of asthenospheric material. Both mafic and silicic volcanic activity were widespread within and behind the Fold Belt from the onset of rifting (ca. 295 Ma) until the reestablishment of the arc. These volcanic rocks range in composition from MORB-like to calcalkaline and alkaline. The termination of the earlier arc, and the subsequent widespread and diverse igneous activity are considered to have resulted from the shallow breakoff of the downgoing plate, which allowed the rise of asthenosphere through a widening lithospheric gap. In this setting, division of the igneous rocks into pre-, syn-, and post-collisional groups is of limited value.  相似文献   

An assessment of recent trophic changes in Windermere South Basin (England) based on diatom remains and fossil pigments   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Sergi Sabater  Elizabeth Y. Haworth 《Journal of Paleolimnology》1995,14(2):151-163

Cyanobacterial carotenoids and diatom remains have been analyzed in recent sediments from the Windermere South Basin (WSB) to study the trophic evolution experienced by the lake. Dates in the top 30 cm were specifically established through radionuclide (²¹⁰Pb and¹³⁷Cs) analyses. Diatom stratigraphy shows dominance of the centric diatomsCyclotella comensis andC. radiosa and several benthic taxa in the early postglacial. This indicates oligotrophy in the WSB during that period. This assemblage was replaced by another dominated by the diatomAsterionella formosa in the 1870's, as has been established from the²¹⁰Pb dating. From that date onwards, the lake underwent a progression towards eutrophy, indicated by the progressive increase inAulacoseira subarctica (c. 1930's),Fragilaria crotonensis (c. 1943), and more recently, of the centricsStephanodiscus parvus (c. 1971) andCyclotella meneghiniana (1988).Carotenoid stratigraphy reveals the differences between different sections of the core. Oscillaxanthin and myxoxanthophyll had very low records in the early and medium parts of the core, but increased fromc. 1950's, showing peaks atc. 1967, 1979 and 1987. Some of these peaks indicated a differential abundance ofOscillatoria, and are matched to those observed directly during the ongoing monitoring of the phytoplankton of the lake.The coincidence between the historic appearance of diatoms associated with nutrient-rich waters and the enhanced carotenoid occurrence suggest a common response to phosphorus enrichment, and that the progressive change towards eutrophy has been accentuated during the last twenty-five years.  相似文献   

Paleolimnological analysis of Ullswater using testate amoebae     

Robert L. Ellison 《Journal of Paleolimnology》1995,13(1):51-63

Tests of testate amoebae extracted from samples of bottom sediments from 33 tarns in the English Lake District reveal a relationship between their distribution and physical-chemical parameters of the tarn waters.Nebela and several species ofDifflugia appear to prefer more acidic conditions, i.e., pH less than 6.2, while others such asCentropyxis, Lesquereusia and some species ofCyclopyxis andDifflugia are more common in lakes with pH's above that value.Using these data, and inferring rates of sedimentation from the densities of tests found in a 6-m core, a paleolimnological history for the past 11 000 years is presented for Ullswater (English Lake District). The record of testate amoebae, beginning shortly after deglaciation, depicts an uneven increase in acidity and a history of episodes of rapid and slow deposition that correlate reasonably well with paleoclimatological changes and anthropogenic alterations in the catchment.  相似文献   

Acidity of twelve northern New England (U.S.A.) lakes in recent centuries     

Ronald B. Davis  Dennis S. Anderson  Stephen A. Norton  Mark C. Whiting 《Journal of Paleolimnology》1994,12(2):103-154

Studies of sediment cores from 12 acidic lakes in granitic, forested and uninhabited catchments in northern New England, U.S.A. produced diatom-inferred pH (IpH) 5.2 to 5.8 and alkalinity (Ialk) –12 to 31 µeq l^–1, with slowly declining values at some lakes, for one to four centuries prior to logging. Increases of IpH (0.05 to 0.60) and Ialk (5 to 40 µeq l^–1) correlate with logging in the catchments in the early-1800s to early-1900s. Recovery to pre-logging IpH and Ialk correlates with forest succession toward conifers, and is completed in the late-1800s to mid-1900s. Beginning at 1915–1920 (4 lakes), 1930–1950 (4 lakes) and 1965–1970 (4 lakes), IpH and Ialk start decreasing below pre-logging values due to atmospheric acidic deposition, leading to respective total decreases of 0.10 to 0.45 (X=0.25) and 5 to 25 µeq l^–1 (X=15). Inputs of anthropogenic Pb, Zn, V, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and soot from the atmosphere are first detectable in early- to late-1800s sediment, and Cu in late-1800s sediment, increase rapidly in the late-1800s to mid-1900s, and level off or decrease since the 1960s — partly due to emission controls. Decreasing Ca, Mn, and possibly Zn relative to other metals and normalized to organic content, and increasing flux of Fe to the lakes, indicate soil and water acidification after 1900.This is the fourteenth of a series of papers to be published by this journal which is a contribution of the Paleoecological Investigation of Recent Lake Acidification (PIRLA) project. Drs. D. F. Charles and D. R. Whitehead are guest editors for this series.  相似文献   

Situating local experience of risk: Peripherality, marginality and place identity in the UK foot and mouth disease crisis     

Karen Bickerstaff  Peter Simmons  Nick Pidgeon 《Geoforum》2006,37(5):844-858

Research into exposure to, and experience of, environmental risk that has an explicitly spatial focus can be broadly differentiated into two strands. The first strand focuses on the responses of communities of exposure (or the threat of exposure) to some form of environmental hazard and to the policies put in place by institutional actors to manage the hazard. The second strand addresses social inequalities in exposure to environmental hazards and seeks to correlate uneven spatial distributions of risk across different social groups. It is argued that both strands are limited by their respective understandings of space - and that the way in which vulnerable communities experience environmental risk and its management will be shaped significantly by the complex interactions of different spatialisations or constructions of space. We explore this process by examining accounts of local experience of the UK’s 2001 foot and mouth disease crisis and its management in terms of the interplay of two different spatialisations: socio-cultural marginality and political-economic peripherality. We trace the relationship between these cultural and political-economic spatialisations through an analysis of the discursive mobilisation of contrasting place rhetorics. We conclude that focusing on these rhetorics can enhance our understanding of the spatial processes which are constitutive of place identity and in turn mediate the experience of environmental risk and its management.  相似文献   

Assessing the suitability of OSPAR EcoQOs for eutrophication vs ICES criteria for England and Wales     

Painting SJ  Devlin MJ  Rogers SI  Mills DK  Parker ER  Rees HL 《Marine pollution bulletin》2005,50(12):1569-1584

This paper provides a preliminary evaluation of the suitability of OSPAR Ecological Quality objectives for eutrophication for coastal and offshore waters of England and Wales on the basis of ICES criteria. In principle, EcoQOs are easy to understand, but responses to nutrient enrichment are complex. Few studies provide unequivocal evidence of links between inputs and response. Monitoring is generally feasible and in place, but needs to be improved. The best EcoQO is winter nutrient concentrations. Chlorophyll concentrations are a good indicator in environments susceptible to nutrient enrichment. The EcoQO for zoobenthos/fish kills potentially meets all criteria for a good indicator; EcoQOs for phytoplankton indicator species, oxygen concentrations and zoobenthos changes do not. Greater emphasis needs to be placed on seasonal effects of nutrient inputs and phytoplankton response, natural susceptibility of different water bodies, differences between coastal and offshore environments, and developing longer time series of data.  相似文献   

Wetland conservation and sustainable coastal governance in Japan and England   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Fletcher S  Kawabe M  Rewhorn S 《Marine pollution bulletin》2011,62(5):956-962

Coastal wetlands present particular challenges for coastal governance and for the implementation of the Ramsar Convention, not least because coastal areas are focal points of human activity and of governance ambiguity. Through the evaluation of Ramsar delivery at both national and local levels in Japan and England, the relationship between Ramsar implementation and coastal governance was examined. In England, Ramsar status is primarily treated as a nature conservation designation which limits the wider opportunities inherent in the designation. In contrast, in Japan, the Ramsar Convention is used as a policy driver at the national level and as a leverage to encourage citizen engagement, economic benefit, and wetland conservation at the local level. It was concluded that through the implementation of the Ramsar Convention in important coastal wetland areas, significant steps can be taken towards delivering integrated approaches to coastal governance.  相似文献   

Identification of trends in annual maximum sea levels using robust locally weighted regression     

A.T. Walden  P. Prescott 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》1983,16(1):17-26

Estimates of the frequency of occurrence of extreme high sea levels may be obtained from a sample of annual maxima. However, the presence of a secular trend may lead to serious doubts about the validity of analysing these annual maxima as if they were a random sample from an extreme-value distribution. Robust locally weighted regression, employing a simple model, is used to illustrate how any secular trend may be estimated. The annual maxima may then be adjusted for this trend and more reliable estimates of the frequencies of occurrence of extreme sea levels determined.  相似文献   

Pleistocene fluvial sediments,palaeontology and archaeology of the upper River Thames at Latton,Wiltshire, England     

S. G. Lewis  D. Maddy  C. Buckingham  G. R. Coope  M. H. Field  D. H. Keen  A. W. G. Pike  D. A. Roe  R. G. Scaife  K. Scott 《第四纪科学杂志》2006,21(2):181-205

Pleistocene fluvial sediments of the Northmoor Member of the Upper Thames Formation exposed at Latton, Wiltshire, record episodic deposition close to the Churn–Thames confluence possibly spanning the interval from Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 7 to 2. The sequence is dominated by gravel facies, indicating deposition by a high‐energy, gravel‐bed river. A number of fine‐grained organic sediment bodies within the sequence have yielded palaeoenvironmental and biostratigraphical data from Mollusca, Coleoptera, vertebrates, pollen and plant macrofossils. The basal deposit (Facies Association A) contains faunal material indicating temperate conditions. Most of the palaeontological evidence including a distinctive small form of mammoth (Mammuthus cf. trogontherii), together with the U‐series age estimate of >147.4 ± 20 kyr suggest correlation with MIS 7. The overlying deposits (Facies Associations B and C) represent deposition under a range of climatic conditions. Two fine‐grained organic deposits occurred within Association B; one (Association Ba) in the northern part of the pit as a channel fill and the other (Association Bb) in its southern part as a scour‐fill deposit. The coleopteran assemblages from Ba, indicate that it accumulated under temperate oceanic conditions, while Bb, which also yielded a radiocarbon age estimate of 39 560 ± 780 ¹⁴C yr BP, was formed under much colder and more continental climatic conditions. The sequence is considered to represent deposition within an alluvial fan formed at the Churn–Thames confluence; a depositional scenario which may account for the juxtaposition of sediments and fossils of widely differing age within the same altitudinal range. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献