Global Peak in Atmospheric Radiocarbon Provides a Potential
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NEWSLETTER NUMBER 84 JUNE 2006 New Zealand Botanical Society
NEW ZEALAND BOTANICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER NUMBER 84 JUNE 2006 New Zealand Botanical Society President: Anthony Wright Secretary/Treasurer: Ewen Cameron Committee: Bruce Clarkson, Colin Webb, Carol West Address: c/- Canterbury Museum Rolleston Avenue CHRISTCHURCH 8001 Subscriptions The 2006 ordinary and institutional subscriptions are $25 (reduced to $18 if paid by the due date on the subscription invoice). The 2006 student subscription, available to full-time students, is $9 (reduced to $7 if paid by the due date on the subscription invoice). Back issues of the Newsletter are available at $2.50 each from Number 1 (August 1985) to Number 46 (December 1996), $3.00 each from Number 47 (March 1997) to Number 50 (December 1997), and $3.75 each from Number 51 (March 1998) onwards. Since 1986 the Newsletter has appeared quarterly in March, June, September and December. New subscriptions are always welcome and these, together with back issue orders, should be sent to the Secretary/Treasurer (address above). Subscriptions are due by 28th February each year for that calendar year. Existing subscribers are sent an invoice with the December Newsletter for the next years subscription which offers a reduction if this is paid by the due date. If you are in arrears with your subscription a reminder notice comes attached to each issue of the Newsletter. Deadline for next issue The deadline for the September 2006 issue is 25 August 2006 Please post contributions to: Joy Talbot 17 Ford Road Christchurch 8002 Send email contributions to [email protected] or [email protected]. Files are preferably in MS Word (Word XP or earlier) or saved as RTF or ASCII. -
Do Gssps Render Dual Time-Rock/Time Classification and Nomenclature Redundant?
Do GSSPs render dual time-rock/time classification and nomenclature redundant? Ismael Ferrusquía-Villafranca1 Robert M. Easton2 and Donald E. Owen3 1Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, México, DF, MEX, 45100, e-mail: [email protected] 2Ontario Geological Survey, Precambrian Geoscience Section, 933 Ramsey Lake Road, B7064 Sudbury, Ontario P3E 6B5, e-mail: [email protected] 3Department of Geology, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas 77710, e-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT: The Geological Society of London Proposal for “…ending the distinction between the dual stratigraphic terminology of time-rock units (of chronostratigraphy) and geologic time units (of geochronology). The long held, but widely misunderstood distinc- tion between these two essentially parallel time scales has been rendered unnecessary by the adoption of the global stratotype sections and points (GSSP-golden spike) principle in defining intervals of geologic time within rock strata.” Our review of stratigraphic princi- ples, concepts, models and paradigms through history clearly shows that the GSL Proposal is flawed and if adopted will be of disservice to the stratigraphic community. We recommend the continued use of the dual stratigraphic terminology of chronostratigraphy and geochronology for the following reasons: (1) time-rock (chronostratigraphic) and geologic time (geochronologic) units are conceptually different; (2) the subtended time-rock’s unit space between its “golden spiked-marked” -
GSA TODAY • Southeastern Section Meeting, P
Vol. 5, No. 1 January 1995 INSIDE • 1995 GeoVentures, p. 4 • Environmental Education, p. 9 GSA TODAY • Southeastern Section Meeting, p. 15 A Publication of the Geological Society of America • North-Central–South-Central Section Meeting, p. 18 Stability or Instability of Antarctic Ice Sheets During Warm Climates of the Pliocene? James P. Kennett Marine Science Institute and Department of Geological Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93106 David A. Hodell Department of Geology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 ABSTRACT to the south from warmer, less nutrient- rich Subantarctic surface water. Up- During the Pliocene between welling of deep water in the circum- ~5 and 3 Ma, polar ice sheets were Antarctic links the mean chemical restricted to Antarctica, and climate composition of ocean deep water with was at times significantly warmer the atmosphere through gas exchange than now. Debate on whether the (Toggweiler and Sarmiento, 1985). Antarctic ice sheets and climate sys- The evolution of the Antarctic cryo- tem withstood this warmth with sphere-ocean system has profoundly relatively little change (stability influenced global climate, sea-level his- hypothesis) or whether much of the tory, Earth’s heat budget, atmospheric ice sheet disappeared (deglaciation composition and circulation, thermo- hypothesis) is ongoing. Paleoclimatic haline circulation, and the develop- data from high-latitude deep-sea sed- ment of Antarctic biota. iments strongly support the stability Given current concern about possi- hypothesis. Oxygen isotopic data ble global greenhouse warming, under- indicate that average sea-surface standing the history of the Antarctic temperatures in the Southern Ocean ocean-cryosphere system is important could not have increased by more for assessing future response of the Figure 1. -
“Anthropocene” Epoch: Scientific Decision Or Political Statement?
The “Anthropocene” epoch: Scientific decision or political statement? Stanley C. Finney*, Dept. of Geological Sciences, California Official recognition of the concept would invite State University at Long Beach, Long Beach, California 90277, cross-disciplinary science. And it would encourage a mindset USA; and Lucy E. Edwards**, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, that will be important not only to fully understand the Virginia 20192, USA transformation now occurring but to take action to control it. … Humans may yet ensure that these early years of the ABSTRACT Anthropocene are a geological glitch and not just a prelude The proposal for the “Anthropocene” epoch as a formal unit of to a far more severe disruption. But the first step is to recognize, the geologic time scale has received extensive attention in scien- as the term Anthropocene invites us to do, that we are tific and public media. However, most articles on the in the driver’s seat. (Nature, 2011, p. 254) Anthropocene misrepresent the nature of the units of the International Chronostratigraphic Chart, which is produced by That editorial, as with most articles on the Anthropocene, did the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) and serves as not consider the mission of the International Commission on the basis for the geologic time scale. The stratigraphic record of Stratigraphy (ICS), nor did it present an understanding of the the Anthropocene is minimal, especially with its recently nature of the units of the International Chronostratigraphic Chart proposed beginning in 1945; it is that of a human lifespan, and on which the units of the geologic time scale are based. -
Subantarctic and Polar Fronts of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and Southern 1 Ocean Heat and Freshwater Content Variability: a View from Argo*
MARCH 2016 G I G L I O A N D J O H N S O N 749 Subantarctic and Polar Fronts of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and Southern 1 Ocean Heat and Freshwater Content Variability: A View from Argo*, DONATA GIGLIO Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington GREGORY C. JOHNSON NOAA/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, Washington (Manuscript received 17 July 2015, in final form 6 November 2015) ABSTRACT Argo profiling floats initiated a revolution in observational physical oceanography by providing nu- merous, high-quality, global, year-round, in situ (0–2000 dbar) temperature and salinity observations. This study uses Argo’s unprecedented sampling of the Southern Ocean during 2006–13 to describe the position of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current’s Subantarctic and Polar Fronts, comparing and contrasting two different methods for locating fronts using the same dataset. The first method locates three fronts along dynamic height contours, each corresponding to a local maximum in vertically integrated shear. The second approach locates the fronts using specific features in the potential temperature field, following Orsi et al. Results from the analysis of Argo data are compared to those from Orsi et al. and other more recent studies. Argo spatial resolution is not adequate to resolve annual and interannual movements of the fronts on a circumpolar scale since they are on the order of 18 latitude (Kim and Orsi), which is smaller than the resolution of the gridded product analyzed. Argo’s four-dimensional coverage of the Southern Ocean equatorward of ;608S is used to quantify variations in heat and freshwater content there with respect to the time-mean front locations. -
Scientific Dating of Pleistocene Sites: Guidelines for Best Practice Contents
Consultation Draft Scientific Dating of Pleistocene Sites: Guidelines for Best Practice Contents Foreword............................................................................................................................. 3 PART 1 - OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................. 3 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3 The Quaternary stratigraphical framework ........................................................................ 4 Palaeogeography ........................................................................................................... 6 Fitting the archaeological record into this dynamic landscape .............................................. 6 Shorter-timescale division of the Late Pleistocene .............................................................. 7 2. Scientific Dating methods for the Pleistocene ................................................................. 8 Radiometric methods ..................................................................................................... 8 Trapped Charge Methods................................................................................................ 9 Other scientific dating methods ......................................................................................10 Relative dating methods ................................................................................................10 -
Impacts of Climate Change on Antarctic Ecosystems
IP 56 ! ! ! ! "#$%&'!()$*+ ",-.!/01! -23!45'6 ! 37$8$%)$&!9:+ ";<- ! <7=#=%'>+ 2%#>=8? ! ! Impacts of Climate Change on Antarctic Ecosystems ! ! ! ! ! / IP 56 ! ! Impacts of Climate Change on Antarctic Ecosystems Information paper submitted by ASOC to the XXXI ATCM, Kiev, 2-14 June 2008 ATCM item 13 and CEP item 9a Summary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
New Zealand Subantarctic Islands Research Strategy
New Zealand Subantarctic Islands Research Strategy SOUTHLAND CONSERVANCY New Zealand Subantarctic Islands Research Strategy Carol West MAY 2005 Cover photo: Recording and conservation treatment of Butterfield Point fingerpost, Enderby Island, Auckland Islands Published by Department of Conservation PO Box 743 Invercargill, New Zealand. CONTENTS Foreword 5 1.0 Introduction 6 1.1 Setting 6 1.2 Legal status 8 1.3 Management 8 2.0 Purpose of this research strategy 11 2.1 Links to other strategies 12 2.2 Monitoring 12 2.3 Bibliographic database 13 3.0 Research evaluation and conditions 14 3.1 Research of benefit to management of the Subantarctic islands 14 3.2 Framework for evaluation of research proposals 15 3.2.1 Research criteria 15 3.2.2 Risk Assessment 15 3.2.3 Additional points to consider 16 3.2.4 Process for proposal evaluation 16 3.3 Obligations of researchers 17 4.0 Research themes 18 4.1 Theme 1 – Natural ecosystems 18 4.1.1 Key research topics 19 4.1.1.1 Ecosystem dynamics 19 4.1.1.2 Population ecology 20 4.1.1.3 Disease 20 4.1.1.4 Systematics 21 4.1.1.5 Biogeography 21 4.1.1.6 Physiology 21 4.1.1.7 Pedology 21 4.2 Theme 2 – Effects of introduced biota 22 4.2.1 Key research topics 22 4.2.1.1 Effects of introduced animals 22 4.2.1.2 Effects of introduced plants 23 4.2.1.3 Exotic biota as agents of disease transmission 23 4.2.1.4 Eradication of introduced biota 23 4.3 Theme 3 – Human impacts and social interaction 23 4.3.1 Key research topics 24 4.3.1.1 History and archaeology 24 4.3.1.2 Human interactions with wildlife 25 4.3.1.3 -
Industrialisation
1 Foreword ndustry has always played a vital role in development. It boosts economic activity INDUSTRIALISE I along value chains, from raw materials to finished products. It lifts productivity by introducing new equipment and new AFRICA techniques, increases the capabilities of the workforce, and diffuses these improvements into the wider economy. Industry also tends to generate formal employment, which in turn creates social stability. It improves the balance of trade by creating goods for export and replacing imports. Industrialisation, including the encouragement of manufacturing and processing capability, makes for strong and sustainable economic development, creating wealth in the economy. It is a prerequisite to Africa’s sustainable and inclusive growth, achievable through adding value by processing, packaging and marketing its raw materials. Africa must not miss opportunities for such linkages whenever and wherever they occur. There is a golden opportunity over the next few years as African economies pick up the pace. Africa is home to 5 of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world, but this growth is unsustainable and non- inclusive since it is mostly driven by the export of unprocessed commodities with little value addition. We are starting from a low base. On average, industry generates merely $7001 1 `$` indicates US dollars throughout this text 2 of GDP per capita in Africa, less than a third of Latin America’s output ($2,500 per capita) and barely a fifth of East Asia’s ($3,400 per capita). To industrialise Africa, the African Development Bank is committed to mobilising capital, de-risking investments for the private sector, and leveraging capital markets. -
Jeremy Baskin, “Paradigm Dressed As Epoch: the Ideology of The
Paradigm Dressed as Epoch: The Ideology of the Anthropocene JEREMY BASKIN School of Social and Political Sciences University of Melbourne Victoria 3010, Australia Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT The Anthropocene is a radical reconceptualisation of the relationship between humanity and nature. It posits that we have entered a new geological epoch in which the human species is now the dominant Earth-shaping force, and it is rapidly gaining traction in both the natural and social sciences. This article critically explores the scientific representation of the concept and argues that the Anthropocene is less a scientific concept than the ideational underpinning for a particular worldview. It is paradigm dressed as epoch. In particular, it normalises a certain portion of humanity as the ‘human’ of the Anthropocene, reinserting ‘man’ into nature only to re-elevate ‘him’ above it. This move pro- motes instrumental reason. It implies that humanity and its planet are in an exceptional state, explicitly invoking the idea of planetary management and legitimising major interventions into the workings of the earth, such as geoen- gineering. I conclude that the scientific origins of the term have diminished its radical potential, and ask whether the concept’s radical core can be retrieved. KEYWORDS Anthropocene, ideology, geoengineering, environmental politics, earth management INTRODUCTION ‘The Anthropocene’ is an emergent idea, which posits that the human spe- cies is now the dominant Earth-shaping force. Initially promoted by scholars from the physical and earth sciences, it argues that we have exited the current geological epoch, the 12,000-year-old Holocene, and entered a new epoch, Environmental Values 24 (2015): 9–29. -
Patterns of Flammability Across the Vascular Plant Phylogeny, with Special Emphasis on the Genus Dracophyllum
Lincoln University Digital Thesis Copyright Statement The digital copy of this thesis is protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). This thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: you will use the copy only for the purposes of research or private study you will recognise the author's right to be identified as the author of the thesis and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate you will obtain the author's permission before publishing any material from the thesis. Patterns of flammability across the vascular plant phylogeny, with special emphasis on the genus Dracophyllum A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of philosophy at Lincoln University by Xinglei Cui Lincoln University 2020 Abstract of a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of philosophy. Abstract Patterns of flammability across the vascular plant phylogeny, with special emphasis on the genus Dracophyllum by Xinglei Cui Fire has been part of the environment for the entire history of terrestrial plants and is a common disturbance agent in many ecosystems across the world. Fire has a significant role in influencing the structure, pattern and function of many ecosystems. Plant flammability, which is the ability of a plant to burn and sustain a flame, is an important driver of fire in terrestrial ecosystems and thus has a fundamental role in ecosystem dynamics and species evolution. However, the factors that have influenced the evolution of flammability remain unclear. -
An Assessment for Fisheries Operating in South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
FAO International Plan of Action-Seabirds: An assessment for fisheries operating in South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands by Nigel Varty, Ben Sullivan and Andy Black BirdLife International Global Seabird Programme Cover photo – Fishery Patrol Vessel (FPV) Pharos SG in Cumberland Bay, South Georgia This document should be cited as: Varty, N., Sullivan, B. J. and Black, A. D. (2008). FAO International Plan of Action-Seabirds: An assessment for fisheries operating in South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands. BirdLife International Global Seabird Programme. Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, UK. 2 Executive Summary As a result of international concern over the cause and level of seabird mortality in longline fisheries, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Committee of Fisheries (COFI) developed an International Plan of Action-Seabirds. The IPOA-Seabirds stipulates that countries with longline fisheries (conducted by their own or foreign vessels) or a fleet that fishes elsewhere should carry out an assessment of these fisheries to determine if a bycatch problem exists and, if so, to determine its extent and nature. If a problem is identified, countries should adopt a National Plan of Action – Seabirds for reducing the incidental catch of seabirds in their fisheries. South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) are a United Kingdom Overseas Territory and the combined area covered by the Territorial Sea and Maritime Zone of South Georgia is referred to as the South Georgia Maritime Zone (SGMZ) and fisheries within the SGMZ are managed by the Government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) within the framework of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living (CCAMLR).