Probable Neolithic footprints preserved in inter-tidal peat at Kenfig, South Wales (UK)     

Matthew R. Bennett  Silvia Gonzalez  Jason Kirby 《Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. Geologists' Association》2010,121(1):66-76

Holocene footprints have been reported from several locations around the UK coast preserved within inter-tidal sediments. These sediments are normally fine-grained silts, sands and clays. Here we report potential human footprints preserved in the lower of two inter-tidal peat units exposed on the foreshore at Kenfig in South Wales. The lower peat layer pre-dates 3810 ± 40 BP and its maximum age is constrained by two dates, one of 4930 ± 50 BP and another of 5110 ± 50 BP. The prints may have formed at any point within this time interval. Both peat units formed in a salt marsh, or fen environment, as indicated by the analysis of both diatoms and pollen and have been tentatively assigned to the middle Wentlooge Formation within the Holocene lithostratigraphy established for the Severn Estuary Holocene sequence. The footprints were digitised using an optical laser scanner and are compared to other Holocene human footprints exposed on the Sefton Coast in North West England. In comparison the Kenfig prints have poor anatomical form which may be the result of both the substrate and post-depositional modification. The paper demonstrates the value of using optical laser scanning in the data capture and analysis of transitory archaeological and geological trace evidence.  相似文献   

Food choices,health and environment: Effects of cutting Europe's meat and dairy intake     

《Global Environmental Change》2014

Western diets are characterised by a high intake of meat, dairy products and eggs, causing an intake of saturated fat and red meat in quantities that exceed dietary recommendations. The associated livestock production requires large areas of land and lead to high nitrogen and greenhouse gas emission levels. Although several studies have examined the potential impact of dietary changes on greenhouse gas emissions and land use, those on health, the agricultural system and other environmental aspects (such as nitrogen emissions) have only been studied to a limited extent. By using biophysical models and methods, we examined the large-scale consequences in the European Union of replacing 25–50% of animal-derived foods with plant-based foods on a dietary energy basis, assuming corresponding changes in production. We tested the effects of these alternative diets and found that halving the consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs in the European Union would achieve a 40% reduction in nitrogen emissions, 25–40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and 23% per capita less use of cropland for food production. In addition, the dietary changes would also lower health risks. The European Union would become a net exporter of cereals, while the use of soymeal would be reduced by 75%. The nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of the food system would increase from the current 18% to between 41% and 47%, depending on choices made regarding land use. As agriculture is the major source of nitrogen pollution, this is expected to result in a significant improvement in both air and water quality in the EU. The resulting 40% reduction in the intake of saturated fat would lead to a reduction in cardiovascular mortality. These diet-led changes in food production patterns would have a large economic impact on livestock farmers and associated supply-chain actors, such as the feed industry and meat-processing sector.  相似文献   

Paleolithic vs. Epipaleolithic fisheries in northern Iberia     

Pablo Turrero  Alba Ardura  Eva García-Vázquez 《Quaternary Research》2014

A comparison of Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic fisheries in NW Iberia shows an overall high trophic level of catch. Freshwater fisheries (and thus their impacts) are ca. 8000 yr older than marine fisheries and have suffered virtually no changes in the region except for the increase in numbers, being focused on two families (Salmonidae, and Anguillidae to a very minor extent). Marine fisheries in the Paleolithic likely had a low impact but rapidly increased in importance, raising the average trophic level of the catch, the number of affected taxa and the proportion of marine to freshwater fisheries with time.  相似文献   

A 7000-year record of environmental change,including early farming impact,based on lake-sediment geochemistry and pollen data from County Sligo,western Ireland     

Michael O'Connell  Beatrice Ghilardi  Liam Morrison 《Quaternary Research》2014

Detailed, chronologically tightly constrained, lake-sediment-based geochemical and pollen records have enabled local changes in soil erosion, woodland cover and composition, and prehistoric farming impact to be reconstructed in considerable detail. The profile opens shortly after 7800 BC when tall canopy trees were well-established and presumably in equilibrium with their environment. A distinct perturbation that involved an increase in pine and birch, a decrease in oak and a minor opening-up of the woodland is regarded as the local expression of the 8.2 ka climate anomaly. Lack of response in the geochemical erosional indicators is interpreted as evidence for drier conditions. A short-lived, over-compensation in climate recovery followed the 8.2 ka event. Neolithic farming impact is clearly expressed in both the pollen and geochemical data. Both datasets indicate that Neolithic impact was concentrated in the early Neolithic (3715–3440 BC). In the interval 3000–2700 BC there appears to have been a break in farming activity. The pollen data suggest substantially increased farming impact (both arable and pastoral) in the Bronze Age, with maximum farming and woodland clearances taking place in the late Bronze Age (1155–935 BC). These developments are poorly expressed in the geochemical record, possibly due to within-lake changes.  相似文献   

地形位指数模型改进及其在植被覆盖评价中的应用     

张玉  张道军 《地理学报》2022,77(11):2757-2772

地形作为影响植被覆盖的重要因素,对植被恢复评价以及生态修复规划意义重大。地形位作为测度地形因子综合效应的指标,具有单一地形因子难以比拟的优势。然而,现有地形位指数算法以整个研究区为参照,未考虑空间异质性,难以反映植被生长的局部环境特征。基于地理学第三定律对地理环境相似的强调,融合“空间位置邻近”和“环境特征相似”,对传统地形位模型进行改进：① 引入局部窗口算法,以突出局部地形特征;② 在不同生境因子组合下测算地形位指数,以排除环境差异对地形位作用的干扰。案例研究表明,新模型有效提升了地形位指数对植被覆盖水平的解释力度;当考虑生境因子组合,且采用最优窗口时,局部窗口地形位指数与植被覆盖度之间的相关性最高。此外,通过观察不同生境组合下的地形位指数发现,在高热少水阴坡和高热少水阳坡条件下,植被覆盖度与局部窗口地形位指数具有更高相关性;可见,越是水资源相对匮乏区域,植被覆盖对局部窗口地形位的响应越敏感。本文有望为植被恢复评价与规划提供新的指标。  相似文献   

论工业变化的综合研究：以澳大利亚制造业为例   总被引：4，自引：0，他引：4  

李小建 《地理学报》1991,46(3):289-299

80年代以来,国际工业地理学界采取不同的方法途径对工业变化进行研究。本文在分析这些方法的基础上,提出将工业组织变化与工业区域变化、工业结构变化加以结合,以弥补在工业区域和结构变化研究中忽视组织决策因素,在工业组织变化研究中忽视把区域作为一个整体。基于大量统计数据和本人实地调查资料,本文应用这种综合方法研究了70年代以来澳大利亚的工业变化。  相似文献   

TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIAL CASE FOR HUMAN SPACE EXPLORATION     

I. A. Crawford 《Earth, Moon, and Planets》2004,94(3-4):245-266

I will argue that an ambitious programme of human space exploration, involving a return to the Moon, and eventually human missions to Mars, will add greatly to human knowledge. Gathering such knowledge is the primary aim of science, but science’s compartmentalisation into isolated academic disciplines tends to obscure the overall strength of the scientific case. Any consideration of the scientific arguments for human space exploration must therefore take a holistic view, and integrate the potential benefits over the entire spectrum of human knowledge. Moreover, science is only one thread in a much larger overall case for human space exploration. Other threads include economic, industrial, educational, geopolitical and cultural benefits. Any responsibly formulated public space policy must weigh all of these factors before deciding whether or not an investment in human space activities is scientifically and socially desirable.  相似文献   

论地理科学体系建设   总被引：5，自引：0，他引：5  

杨开忠 《地理学报》1991,(4)

本文在论述重建地理科学体系必要性的基础上,提出和重点阐述一个新的地理科学体系的框架和内容,并由此分析我国未来地理科学学科建设的战略重点。  相似文献   

Monitoring of percolation water to discriminate surficial inputs in a karst aquifer     

S. Covelli  F. Cucchi  R. Mosca 《Environmental Geology》1998,36(3-4):296-304

 A long-term study on the chemistry of percolating waters in a very large touristic karst cave (Grotta Gigante, northern Italy) was carried out in order to define recharge zones, flowpaths, and possible anthropogenic contamination from the neighboring area. On the basis of a multivaried analysis of the chemical parameters, a discrimination of the dripping points was attempted. Percolation waters whose recharge zone is in the northernmost sector of the cave appeared permanently affected by the anthropic settlements and agricultural activity on the ground surface. Received: 28 April 1997 · Accepted: 3 February 1998  相似文献   

Everyday work: A survey of the 2014 Applied Geography Conference     

《Applied geography (Sevenoaks, England)》2015

A selection of application papers presented at the 2014 Applied Geography Conference in Atlanta, Georgia are included in this special issue of Applied Geography. The wide-ranging topics of the papers reflect the many directions Geography is applied to solve practical issues in our society.  相似文献