Search

In recent decades, a spectral turn has animated geography and related fields like archaeology, memory studies, and landscape studies, examining how places can be haunted by the ghosts of the past, with heavy emphasis on metaphorical specters and spirits. The geography of spirits and other unseen forces presented here takes a less metaphorical approach to haunted landscapes. This paper examines how spirits have traditionally dwelt within everyday places and objects like trees and stones in Palestine, and how people have sought to cohabitate with or settle such spirits. Attending to the physical geography of the spirit world can shed light on how spaces become sacred through belief and practice, and how sacred spaces are continuously remade within changing social, cultural, and political contexts. Drawing together historical observations by European and Palestinian ethnographers and interweaving the voices of Palestinian elders in the form of recorded oral history testimonies, this paper examines the typologies and environments of spirits and jinn in Palestine, with particular attention to water demons and haunted trees. The paper reflects on how these unseen forces play a role in establishing moral, gendered, and sacred boundaries, while at the same time blurring boundaries between popular religion and religious orthodoxy. • Examines haunted places in historical ethnographic writing and oral histories. • Jinn are closely tied to physical geography, including trees, caves, and springs. • Jinn play a role in establishing and maintaining geographic and moral boundaries. • Belief in spirits dwelling in physical landscapes is deeply rooted in Palestine. • Belief in jinn and spirit dwelling are folk traditions shared across religions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Any understanding of the transformation from indirect imperial to centralized nation-state rule must consider the complex interplay between knowledge production, sovereignty, and power, as well as the historical geographies that shape them. As such, this article focuses on Middle Eastern modern-state formation through the case of Dersim, a region in contemporary Turkey's Eastern Anatolia, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It delves deeply into Dersim's intricate dynamics to examine the changing relationship between state and territory through the perspective of government authorities, Western travelers, and local inhabitants. The article argues that the Turkish state's violent transformation of nonstate Dersim in 1937–38 marked a peak in the process of creating a flattened, homogeneous territory where sovereignty would be implemented effectively and, ideally, equally. This process began in Dersim, and the larger region around it, with the implementation of the Ottoman Tanzimat Reforms in the early nineteenth century, gained momentum with the 1877–78 Russo-Turkish War, and reached its culmination with genocidal operations in Dersim in the late 1930s. The state elites' instrumentalization of modern cartography, among other technological advancements, for military purposes allowed them to envision, define, and reshape Dersim as an integral part of their imagined national homeland. • Explores attempts to imagine, map, discipline and control a peripheral region within the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey. • Shows how central cartography was to this mission. • Underscores the influence of physical geography in the state-society relations. • Uses alternative archives to show that Dersim had a complex, nonstate form of social regulation. • Highlights the interconnectedness of knowledge production, state formation, and the natural environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal dune ecosystems have been severely degraded as a result of excessive natural resource exploitation, urbanisation, industrial growth, and worldwide tourism. Coastal management often requires the use of vulnerability indices to facilitate the decision-making process. The main objective of this study was to develop a Mediterranean dune vulnerability index (MDVI) for sandy coasts, starting from the existing dune vulnerability index (DVI) proposed by Garcia-Mora et al. (2001) related to the oceanic coasts. Given that the Mediterranean sandy coasts are quite different from the Atlantic coasts, several adjustments and integrations were introduced. Our proposed index is based on the following five main group of factors: geomorphological conditions of the dune systems (GCD), marine influence (MI), aeolian effect (AE), vegetation condition (VC), and human effect (HE), for a total of 51 variables derived (and adapted) from the bibliography or proposed for the first time in this study. For each coastal site, a total vulnerability index, ranging from 0 (very low vulnerability) to 1 (very high vulnerability), was calculated as the unweighted average of the five partial vulnerability indices. Index computation was applied to 23 coastal dune systems of two different contexts in Italy, i.e. peninsular and continental island territories representative of the W-Mediterranean Basin, in order to compare the dune systems with different geomorphology, shoreline dynamics, and human pressure. In particular, our research addressed the following two questions: (1) Which variables are the most critical for the Italian coastal systems? (2) How can the coastal dune vulnerability index be used to develop appropriate strategies of conservation and management for these ecosystems? Cluster analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling separated the peninsular from the insular sites, both of which were characterised by low to moderate values of vulnerability (0.32 < MDVI < 0.49). The most critical factors for the coastal systems examined in this study were marine negative influence, low stabilising ability of vegetation, and human disturbance. Hence, coastal managers are encouraged to plan specific management actions such as protection of foredunes from marine factors (particularly erosion), to promote dune formation with the reintroduction of native dune builder species and to minimise human pressure where vulnerability depends on these variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acoustic anomalies in seismic records have revealed that gas-charged sediments are very common features in the coastal environments around the world. The ubiquitous gassy sediments challenge the effective acoustic mapping of shallow stratigraphy by seismic means, as well as having an important influence on environmental issues related to the coastal zone occupation and management. This paper documents examples of gassy sediments from coastal lagoons, estuaries, rivers, bays and the inner shelf and nearshore environments of Brazil, Argentina and South Africa. Seismic echograms from selected areas show several gas-related anomalies, which present distinctive morphologies for sediment-trapped gas, leaking or free gas discharge into the water column. In several places the gas-charged sediments occur in areas of palaeo-topographic lows related to fluvial channels and valleys that developed in the coastal zone due to sea level oscillations during the Quaternary period. This forcing by palaeo-topographic features results in the occurrence of shallow gas being controlled in most coastal sites by the previous environmental scenario, the stratigraphic arrangement of the transgressive infilling elements, and the local hydrodynamic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quasi-circular collapsed landforms occurring in the Chryse region of Mars share similar morphological characteristics, such as depth of collapse and polygonally fractured floors. Here, we present a statistical analysis of diameter, maximum and minimum depth, and amount of collapse of these features. Based on their morphometric characteristics, we find that these landforms have a common origin. In particular, the investigated landforms show diameter-depth correlations similar to those that impact craters of equivalent diameters exhibit. We also find that the observed amount of collapse of the collected features is strongly correlated to their diameter. Furthermore, the linear relation between minimum filling and pristine depth of craters, the constant ratio between collapse and the amount of filling and the fractured and chaotic aspect of the filling agree with melting and subsequent collapse of an ice layer below a sediment layer. This interpretation is consistent with a buried sub-ice lake scenario, which is a non-climatic mechanism for producing and storing abundant liquid water under martian conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Report model ages for 48 representative type areas for new Mars global geological map. [•] Introduce interpretation-independent visualisation of cratering resurfacing history. [•] Present recommendations for documentation of crater statistics in publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We map in detail the glacial geomorphology of ice flows, Protonilus Mensae, Mars. [•] We propose an alternative interpretation of ice flow direction in one key location. [•] Our interpretation influences former ice level reconstructions in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This review is concerned with the aeolian geomorphology of the Namib Sand Sea, part of the Namib Desert in Namibia, south-west Africa, concentrating in particular on studies made over the past 50 years. The paper covers: sand sea organisation and dune patterns; and the dynamics of individual dunes. It demonstrates that studies in the Namib Sand Sea have been important to a much wider understanding of the geomorphological development of global sand seas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Interior to the orbit of Mercury, between 0.07 and 0.21AU, is a dynamically stable region where a population of asteroids, known as Vulcanoids, may reside. We present the results from our search for Vulcanoids using archival data from the Heliospheric Imager-1 (HI-1) instrument on NASA’s two STEREO spacecraft. Four separate observers independently searched through images obtained from 2008-12-10 to 2009-02-28. Roughly, all Vulcanoids with e ⩽0.15 and i ⩽15° will pass through the HI-1 field of view at least twice during this period. No Vulcanoids were detected. Based on the number of synthetic Vulcanoids added to the data that were detected, we derive a 3σ upper limit (i.e. a confidence level >0.997) that there are presently no Vulcanoids larger than 5.7km in diameter, assuming an R-band albedo of p R =0.05 and a Mercury-like phase function. The present-day Vulcanoid population, if it exists at all, is likely a small remnant of the hypothetical primordial Vulcanoid population due to the combined effects of collisional evolution and subsequent radiative transport of collisional fragments. If we assume an extant Vulcanoid population with a collisional equilibrium differential size distribution with a power law index of −3.5, our limit implies that there are no more than 76 Vulcanoids larger than 1km. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We describe the results of our morphologic, stratigraphic and mineralogic investigations of fluvial landforms, paleolakes and possible shoreline morphologies at the Libya Montes/Isidis Planitia boundary. The landforms are indicative of aqueous activity and standing bodies of water, including lakes, seas and oceans, that are attributed to a complex hydrologic cycle that may have once existed on Mars in the Noachian (>3.7Ga) and perhaps also in the Hesperian (>3.1Ga). Our observations of the Libya Montes/Isidis Planitia boundary between 85°/86.5°E and 1.8°/5°N suggest, that (1) the termination of valley networks between roughly −2500 and −2800m coincide with lake-size ponding in basins within the Libya Montes, (2) an alluvial fan and a possible delta, layered morphologies and associated Al-phyllosilicates identified within bright, polygonally fractured material at the front of the delta deposits are interpreted to be the results of fluvial activity and discharge into a paleolake, (3) the Arabia “shoreline” appears as a series of possible coastal cliffs at about −3600 and −3700m indicating two distinct still stands and wave-cut action of a paleosea that temporarily filled the Isidis basin the Early Hesperian, and (4) the Deuteronilus “shoreline” appears at −3800m and is interpreted to be a result of the proposed sublimation residue of a frozen sea that might have filled the Isidis basin, similar to the Vastitas Borealis Formation (VBF) identified in the northern lowlands. We interpret the morphologic–geologic setting and associated mineral assemblages of the Libya Montes/Isidis Planitia boundary as results of fluvial activity, lake-size standing bodies of water and an environmental change over time toward decreasing water availability and a cold and dry climate. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Vulnerability to climate change and other hazards constitutes a critical set of interactions between society and environment. As transitional economies emerging from the collapse of the Soviet Union, the republics of Central Asia are particularly vulnerable due to (1) physical geography (which dominated by temperate deserts and semi-deserts), (2) relative underdevelopment resulting from an economic focus on monoculture agricultural exports before 1991, and (3) traumatic social, economic, institutional upheavals following independence. Aridity is expected to increase across the entire Central Asian region, but especially in the western parts of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. Temperature increases are projected to be particularly high in summer and fall, accompanied by decreases in precipitation. We examine the concepts of vulnerability, adaptation, and mitigation in the context of climate change in Central Asia. We explore three major aspects of human vulnerability—food security, water stress, and human health—and propose a set of indicators suitable for their assessment. Non-climatic stresses are likely to increase regional vulnerability to climate change and reduce adaptive capacity due to resource deployment to competing needs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: To mitigate erosion on abandoned fields in semi-arid ecosystems, it is important to understand how vegetation and soil properties and patterns develop after land abandonment. Our objective was to investigate the development of spatial heterogeneity in vegetation and soil properties after land abandonment. We described the vegetation composition, collected soil samples and made detailed aerial photographs for two series of abandoned fields on marl and calcrete in Southeast Spain. The images were classified into bare and vegetated patches, and spatial metrics were calculated for each site. Our results showed that recovery of vegetation and change in soil properties after land abandonment are slow and take at least 40 years in such a semi-arid environment. Succession on calcrete appeared to be faster than on marl, probably because more water is available due to the higher rock fragment cover. Organic matter, aggregate stability and electrical conductivity were all significantly higher under vegetated patches. We found a clear linear relationship between vegetation cover and most spatial metrics, which offers the possibility of upscaling spotted vegetation patterns. The results of our integrated approach to study spatial heterogeneity in vegetation and soil properties can be used to improve predictions of runoff and erosion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Assessing the impact of past human activity on landscape change in the Mediterranean has always presented challenges, requiring sound chronological frameworks for observed environmental change. The current research, focused on the environs surrounding the ancient city of Butrint (southern Albania) during Late Antiquity, c. 4th–6th Century AD, establishes a tephra-based chronology for landscape change through the discovery of ash horizons from a little known eruption on the island of Lipari (Aeolian Islands). Recovered glass shards were geochemically fingerprinted to a 6th Century AD event on the island, dated through local archaeological sequences and corroborated by hagiographic evidence. The presence of this marker horizon at Butrint shows a continuation of open water, estuarine conditions throughout Late Antiquity and the Early Medieval period (during which time Butrint ceases to function as an urban centre), disproving the widely held notion of increased soil erosion/deposition as a result of post-Roman landscape degradation. The study also shows that it is following the medieval revival of the town in the 13th Century that marked environmental change takes place, as estuarine areas silt, giving rise to marsh and wetland. The study highlights the importance of using a range of dating techniques to constrain landscape change, while the presence of the 6th Century Lipari tephra in Epirus, derived from an eruptive event larger than previously suspected, provides a useful regional dating marker for future landscape studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the western sector of Nepenthes Mensae, Mars, there are some geomorphological features that could be related to a standing water sheet in the area, such as fluvial terraces, deltas and shorelines. A detailed analysis of these features reveals two variations in water level, probably related to tectonic processes, as suggested by the existence of a fissural volcano at this site. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Arnus Vallis (AV) is a >300-km-long sinuous, rille located on the northeastern flank of the Syrtis Major volcano on Mars. Observational evidence presented here suggests that AV formed as an open lava channel that was at least partly incised into the pre-existing terrain. The lava source area consists of a sub-circular pit at the southwestern end of a 7-km-long straight section of channel. AV trends down slope from this source with an average bottom slope of 0.26% or 0.14°. Width varies from ∼1 km at the source to ∼0.6 km near the distal end, with a mean of 0.76 km. Depth decreases from ∼180 m at the source to ∼25 m near the distal end. The AV terminus is obscured by a large impact crater. We suggest that the material that flowed in AV must have been a relatively high temperature, low viscosity lava dynamically and perhaps compositionally similar to terrestrial komatiite or some lunar basalt lavas. If correct, this finding has implications for the mode of construction of Syrtis Major. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The existence of a mega-paleolake centered on Jilantai Salt Lake, Inner Mongolia, China, has long been suspected. In the present study, shorelines around Jilantai were identified from astronaut photographs, analyses of Landsat-7 ETM+ images, field surveys and differential global positioning system (DGPS) surveys. Here we characterize 1070–1080, 1060, 1050, 1044 and 1035m (a.s.l.) shorelines around Jilantai, which probably correspond to rapid climatic oscillations and tectonic movement and call for further study. Field surveys around Jilantai and in the Hetao Plain located widespread lacustrine deposits and shorelines that provide evidence for a mega-paleolake covering much of the Jilantai and Hetao basins. Based on preliminary Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating, we speculate that a series of paleolakes probably occupied this region from Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS3) to the Holocene. More detailed investigation is needed for understanding the lake evolution, as well as the environmental impact of Quaternary climatic changes in this region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Composite Infrared Radiometer–Spectrometer (CIRS) instrument, on the NASA Cassini Saturn orbiter, has been acquiring thermal emission spectra from the atmosphere of Titan since orbit insertion in 2004. Observation sequences for measuring stratospheric temperatures have been obtained using both a nadir mapping mode and a limb viewing mode. The limb observations give better vertical resolution, and give information from higher altitudes, while the nadir observations provide more complete longitude coverage. Because the scale height of Titan''s atmosphere is large enough so that emission from a grazing ray is influenced by horizontal temperature variations in the atmosphere, we have developed a two-dimensional temperature retrieval algorithm for reducing the limb spectra, which solves simultaneously for meridional and vertical temperature variations. The analyzed nadir mapping data have sampled nearly all longitudes at latitudes from about 90° S to 60° N, providing temperatures between pressure levels of about 5 to 0.2 mbar. The limb data covers latitudes between about 75° S and 85° N, and yields temperatures between about 1 and 0.005 mbar, at a small number of longitudes. The retrieved temperatures are consistent with early results from nadir observations [Flasar, F.M., and 44 colleagues, 2005. Science 308, 975–978] between 0.5 and 5 mbar where both results are valid, with the warmest temperatures at the equator, and much stronger meridional temperature gradients in the northern (winter) hemisphere than in the southern. At higher altitudes not probed by nadir viewing, the limb data reveal that the stratopause is nearly 20 K warmer in the northern polar regions than at the equator and southern hemisphere, and that the altitude of the stratopause shifts from ≈0.1 mbar (300 km) near the equator to 0.01 mbar (400 km) poleward of about 40° N. When the gradient wind equation is used to construct a zonal mean wind, the reversal in sign of the temperature leads to capping of the winter westerly flow. The core of the resulting jet is about 190 m s−1 in magnitude, spans between 30° N and 60° N, and peaks near 0.1 mbar. Estimates of the radiative heating associated with the radiative disequilibrium lead to a meridional overturning timescale of about three Earth years. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This chapter focuses on hydrology together with sediment and solute transport in the Zackenberg area in relation to climate variability during 1995-2005. The results indicate decreasing precipitation and increasing evapotranspiration during the study years. Theoretically, this should result in decreasing run-off, but no such trend is found in the run-off from the period. Model calculations justify that the loss of water available for run-off is compensated by an increased contribution of meltwater from glaciers within the catchment. It is found that extreme events can dominate the output of sediment and solutes for the catchment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We show that if the Ordinary Weight Conjecture is correct, then large character heights for a p-block B (p an odd prime) necessitate the involvement of in the normalizers of Alperin–Goldschmidt B-subpairs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The plain of Thessaloniki is an important area from a historical standpoint. Numerous reigns and empires have occupied the area, leaving behind numerous archaeological remains. The literature and historical evidences show that the city of Pella was located near the sea and its harbor was the starting point of various conquests of famous kings such as Philip the 2nd and Alexander the Great. At present, the ancient capital is located 28km inland the large fertile plain of Thessaloniki. Palaeogeographic and palaeoenvironmental studies encourage the idea of a fast infilling of the plain between the 5th century BC and the 5th century AD. Twentieth century authors attest to this, but there are contradictory scenarios due to varying interpretations of literature sources. This research offers a new perspective and understanding of the evolution of the Thessaloniki plain based on chronostratigraphical evidences. Historical references of Herodotus, Livy, and Strabo were used to establish the relations between human occupation and landscape evolution. Crossing these chronostratigraphical data with archaeological evidences and literary sources, it was possible to reconstruct shoreline displacements and landscape evolution during the last 5 millennia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We observed a stellar occultation by Titan on 2003 November 14 from La Palma Observatory using ULTRACAM with three Sloan filters: , , and (358, 487, and 758 nm, respectively). The occultation probed latitudes 2° S and 1° N during immersion and emersion, respectively. A prominent central flash was present in only the filter, indicating wavelength-dependent atmospheric extinction. We inverted the light curves to obtain six lower-limit temperature profiles between 335 and 485 km (0.04 and 0.003 mb) altitude. The profiles agreed with the temperature measured by the Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument [Fulchignoni, M., and 43 colleagues, 2005. Nature 438, 785–791] above 415 km (0.01 mb). The profiles obtained from different wavelength filters systematically diverge as altitude decreases, which implies significant extinction in the light curves. Applying an extinction model [Elliot, J.L., Young, L.A., 1992. Astron. J. 103, 991–1015] gave the altitudes of line of sight optical depth equal to unity: and ( immersion and emersion); and ( immersion and emersion); and and ( immersion and emersion). Further analysis showed that the optical depth follows a power law in wavelength with index . We present a new method for determining temperature from scintillation spikes in the occulting body''s atmosphere. Temperatures derived with this method are equal to or warmer than those measured by the Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument. Using the highly structured, three-peaked central flash, we confirmed the shape of Titan''s middle atmosphere using a model originally derived for a previous Titan occultation [Hubbard, W.B., and 45 colleagues, 1993. Astron. Astrophys. 269, 541–563]. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Sediment age profiles reconstructed from a sequence of historical bathymetry changes are used to investigate the subsurface distribution of historical sediments in a subembayment of the San Francisco Estuary. Profiles are created in a grid-based GIS modeling program that stratifies historical deposition into temporal horizons. The model''s reconstructions are supported by comparisons to profiles of 137Cs and excess 210Pb at 12 core sites. The predicted depth of the 1951 sediment horizon is positively correlated to the depth of the first occurrence of 137Cs at sites that have been depositional between recent surveys. Reconstructions at sites that have been erosional since the 1951 survey are supported by a lack of detectable 137Cs and excess 210Pb below the upper 6–16cm of the core. A new data set of predicted near-surface sediment ages was created to illustrate an application of this approach. Results demonstrate other potential applications such as guiding the spatial positioning of future core sites for contaminant measurements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) and Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) reported a North Equatorial Belt (NEB) wave in Jupiter''s atmosphere from optical images [Porco, C.C., and 23 colleagues, 2003. Science 299, 1541–1547] and thermal maps [Flasar, F.M., and 39 colleagues, 2004. Nature 427, 132–135], respectively. The connection between the two waves remained uncertain because the two observations were not simultaneous. Here we report on simultaneous ISS images and CIRS thermal maps that confirm that the NEB wave shown in the ISS ultraviolet (UV1) and strong methane band (MT3) images is correlated with the thermal wave in the CIRS temperature maps, with low temperatures in the CIRS maps (upwelling) corresponding to dark regions in the UV1 images (UV-absorbing particles) and bright regions in the MT3 images (high clouds and haze). The long period of the NEB wave suggests that it is a planetary (Rossby) wave. The combined observations from the ISS and CIRS are utilized to discuss the vertical and meridional propagation of the NEB wave, which offers a possible explanation for why the NEB wave is confined to specific latitudes and altitudes. Further, the ISS UV1 images reveal a circumpolar wave centered at 48.5° S (planetocentric) and probably located in the stratosphere, as suggested by the ISS and CIRS observations. The simultaneous comparison between the ISS and CIRS also implies that the large dark oval in the polar stratosphere of Jupiter discovered in the ISS UV1 images [Porco, C.C., and 23 colleagues, 2003. Science 299, 1541–1547] is the same feature as the warm regions at high northern latitudes in the CIRS 1-mbar temperature maps [Flasar, F.M., and 39 colleagues, 2004. Nature 427, 132–135]. This comparison supports a previous suggestion that the dark oval in the ISS UV1 images is linked to auroral precipitation and heating [Porco, C.C., and 23 colleagues, 2003. Science 299, 1541–1547]. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Major accidental oil spills still affect sensitive marine areas and shorelines around the world, constituting a challenge for operational as well as strategic contingency management. As a rationale basis for addressing both issues we here propose a Decision Support System (DSS) consisting of a combination of modelling and evaluation methods which in particular assesses various impacts on habitats and local economies. By integrating the state-of-the-art oil spill contingency simulation system OSCAR with wind and current forecasts, environmental GIS data and multi-criteria analysis techniques, the DSS is able to rank different response actions to a chemical or oil spill. In this study, the usefulness of the approach is tested by hindcasting the Prestige accident off the coast of Spain in 2002. In particular, the short- to mid-term economic and ecological consequences of different mitigation measures are estimated. We identified clearly one worst option matching the actual decision taken by the responsible parties and one or two almost equally well performing routes. Two procedures of including uncertainty at various stages of the DSS are tested. The first method averages ensembles of outcomes between each modelling/evaluation stage, while the second one preserves the entire degree of freedom till the final ranking procedure. Results in the Prestige case turned out to be rather insensitive against both ways to account for uncertainties. The robustness as well as clarity of the DSS has the potential to enhance the efficiency of decision making even in politically sensitive situations. Limitations as well as ongoing improvements of the system are highlighted, in particular emphasizing linkages to environmental economics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Competitive interactions among marsh plant species are mediated by the influence of the vegetation on sediment accretion and modifications of the relative elevation of the marsh surface. A model described here demonstrates some of the feedbacks between physical processes like sediment accretion and biological processes such as those that determine species zonation patterns. Changes in geomorphology, primary productivity and the spatial distribution of plant species are explained by competitive interactions and by interactions among the tides, biomass density, and sediment accretion that regulate the elevation of intertidal wetlands toward an equilibrium with mean sea level (MSL). This equilibrium is affected positively (relative elevation of the marsh surface increases) by the biomass density of emergent, salt marsh macrophytes and negatively by the rate of sea-level rise (SLR). It was demonstrated that a dominant, invading species is able to modify its environment, raising the elevation of the habitat, to exclude competitively inferior species, a process I refer to as geomorphological displacement. However, the outcome depends on a number of variables including the rate of sea-level rise and the distributions of the species across the intertidal gradient. The model predicts that a marsh will evolve toward alternative stable states, depending on the rate of sea-level rise and the species'' fundamental and realized distributions within the intertidal zone. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The evolution of the cross section of a salt-marsh channel is explored using a numerical model. Deposition on the marsh platform and erosion and deposition in the channel affect the tidal prism flowing through the cross section, such that the model captures the evolution of the stage–discharge relationship as the channel and marsh platform evolve. The model also captures the growth of salt-marsh vegetation on the marsh platform, and how this vegetation affects flow resistance and the rate of sedimentation. The model is utilized to study the influence of hydroperiod and vegetation encroachment on channel cross section. Numerical results show that a reduction in hydroperiod due to the emergence of the marsh platform causes an infilling of the channel. Vegetation encroachment on the marsh surface produces an increase in flow resistance and accretion due to organic and mineral sedimentation, with important consequences for the shape of the channel cross section. Finally, modeling results indicate that in microtidal marshes with vegetation dominated by Spartina alterniflora, the width-to-depth ratio of the channels decreases when the tidal flats evolve in salt marshes, whereas the cross-sectional area remains proportional to the tidal peak discharge throughout channel evolution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The dynamics of plumes from large rivers are relatively well known. Many estuaries are small, however, and discharge directly onto exposed, open shorelines and presumably produce smaller plumes that may have different properties. Therefore this study measured traits of a small estuary on the Australian East Coast as a model system, focusing on (a) plume size, (b) distinctness of plume edges, and (c) imprints on the seafloor. Although plumes were found to be limited in spatial extent (ca. 1km offshore×2.4km longshore) and were constrained near the shore by onshore winds, they exported high nutrient loads from an urbanised watershed. The small plumes were shallow (<2m) and strongly buoyant, with sharp vertical and horizontal clines similar to much larger plumes. The edges of the plumes were highly distinct, clearly separating disparate water masses that trapped significantly higher amounts of nutrients inside the plume. Some particulate material exported from the estuary in the plumes reached the benthos of the nearshore zone, as evidenced by increases in copper concentrations in sediments under the plume. By contrast, the amount of land-sourced carbon delivered by small plumes to the seafloor was minor in comparison to larger inputs from marine sources (e.g. onshore advection of phytoplankton blooms or algae dislodged from reefs) that swamped any contribution from plumes. Overall, small plumes can be important in land–ocean coupling, but their zone of influence may be limited. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study investigates the distribution of macrozoobenthos in relation to meso-scale bedforms in the southern North Sea. Three sites on the Dutch Continental Shelf were sampled that are representative of large areas of the North Sea and show diverse morphological settings. These sites are (i) part of a shoreface-connected ridge, (ii) the lower part of a concave shoreface and (iii) a sandwave area. Within these sites, two or three different morphological units were distinguished. Sampling was undertaken in two seasons for two consecutive years. The species composition was analysed for differences in benthic assemblage within sites, based on the meso-scale morphology, and between sites and seasons. In addition, the benthic assemblage was correlated to water depth, median grain size (D50) and sorting (D60/D10). Results show that significant differences in the benthic assemblage can be found related to meso-scale bedforms, but macro-scale morphological setting and seasonal effects are more important. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A simple model shows that acceleration of Jupiter and Saturn''s multiple jets at altitudes confined near the top of the adiabatic region (e.g., at a few bars pressure) can produce jets that penetrate deeply into the molecular envelope. This result disproves the common assertion that jet acceleration near the outer margin can only produce zonal winds that are confined to these outer layers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A two-dimensional kinetic model calculation for the water group species (H2O, H2, O2, OH, O, H) in Europa''s atmosphere is undertaken to determine its basic compositional structure, gas escape rates, and velocity distribution information to initialize neutral cloud model calculations for the most important gas tori. The dominant atmospheric species is O2 at low altitudes and H2 at higher altitudes with average day–night column densities of and , respectively. H2 forms the most important gas torus with an escape rate of followed by O with an escape rate of , created primarily as exothermic O products from O2 dissociation by magnetospheric electrons. The circumplanetary distributions of H2 and O are highly peaked about the satellite location and asymmetrically distributed near Europa''s orbit about Jupiter, have substantial forward clouds extending radially inward to Io''s orbit, and have spatially integrated cloud populations of molecules for H2 and atoms for O that are larger than their corresponding populations in Europa''s local atmosphere by a factor of ∼200 and ∼1000, respectively. The cloud population for H2 is a factor of ∼3 times larger than that for the combined cloud population of Io''s O and S neutral clouds and provides the dominant neutral population beyond the so-called ramp region at 7.4–7.8 in the plasma torus. The calculated brightness of Europa''s O cloud on the sky plane is very dim at the sub-Rayleigh level. The H2 and O tori provide a new source of europagenic molecular and atomic pickup ions for the thermal plasma and introduce a neutral barrier in which new plasma sinks are created for the cooler iogenic plasma as it is transported radially outward and in which new sinks are created to alter the population and pitch angle distribution of the energetic plasma as it is transported radially inward. The europagenic instantaneous pickup ion rates are peaked at Europa''s orbit, dominate the iogenic pickup ion rates beyond the ramp region, and introduce new secondary plasma source peaks in the solution of the plasma transport problem. The H2 torus is identified as the unknown Europa gas torus that creates both the observed loss of energetic H+ ions at Europa''s orbit and the corresponding measured ENA production rate for H. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A comparative study of meteor ablation in the atmospheres of the Earth and Venus is presented. The classical single body meteor ablation model is extended to incorporate a heat penetration depth estimate allowing the simulation of larger meteoroids, than would an isothermal model. The ablation of icy and rocky meteoroids, with densities of 1.0 and 3.4 g cm−3, respectively, and initial radii of up to for rock and for ice (equivalent to an initial mass of in both cases), was simulated in both atmospheres. In general venusian meteors are brighter than terrestrial equivalents. Large, slow, rocky objects may be up to 0.7 mag brighter on Venus, while small, icy particles with entry speeds in the range 30–60 km s−1, are found to be upwards of 2.7 mag brighter than at the Earth. Venusian meteors reach maximum brightness at greater altitudes than would similar particles at the Earth. Rocky meteoroids have their points of maximum brightness some 15–35 km higher up at Venus, between 90 and 120 km, whereas, for icy particles this altitude difference is about 5–25 km higher up than at the Earth, in the range 100–125 km. These findings agree, for the most part, with recent analytical studies. Venusian meteors, which last from 100 ms to , tend to be shorter-lived than terrestrial meteors, with correspondingly shorter visible trails. Large (), slow () icy particles reach a maximum magnitude of ∼−2 at Venus and remain visible for about one second, with a large section of the smaller faster meteoroids simulated here remaining visible for several hundred milliseconds. In light of recent space-based meteor observations at the Earth [Jenniskens, P., Tedesco, E., Muthry, J., Laux, C.O., Price, S., 2002. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 37, 1071–1078], such brightness, height and duration estimates as suggested in this work, may be used in developing future observational campaigns to be carried out from Venus orbit. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Titan''s atmospheric winds, like those on Venus, exhibit superrotation at high altitudes. Titan general circulation models have yielded conflicting results on whether prograde winds in excess of 100 m s−1 at the 1 mbar level are possible based on known physical processes that drive wind systems. A comprehensive two-dimensional (2D) model for Titan''s stratosphere was constructed to systematically explore the physical mechanisms that produce and maintain stratospheric wind systems. To ensure conservation of angular momentum in the limit of no net exchange of atmospheric angular momentum with the solid satellite and no external sources and sinks, the zonal momentum equation was solved in flux form for total angular momentum. The relationships among thermal wind balance, meridional circulation, and zonal wind were examined with numerical experiments over a range of values for fundamental input parameters, including planetary rotation rate, radius, internal friction due to wave stresses, and net radiative drive. The magnitude of mid-latitude jets is most sensitive to a single parameter, the planetary rotation rate and results from the conversion of planetary angular momentum to relative angular momentum by the meridional circulation, whereas the strength of meridional circulation is mainly determined by the magnitude of the radiative drive. For Titan''s slowly rotating atmosphere, the meridional temperature gradient is vanishingly small, even when the radiative drive is enhanced beyond reasonable magnitudes, and can be inferred from zonal winds in gradient/thermal wind balance. In our 2D model large equatorial superrotation in Titan''s stratosphere can be only produced through internal drag forcing by eddy momentum fluxes, which redistribute angular momentum within the atmosphere, while still conserving the total angular momentum of the atmosphere with time. We cannot identify any waves, such as gravitational or thermal tides, that are sufficiently capable of generating the required eddy forcing of >50 m s−1 Titan-day−1 to maintain peak prograde winds in excess of 100 m s−1 at the 1 mbar level. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The fore-and-aft, lateral and vertical forces on a seat and a backrest have been investigated with 12 male subjects exposed to random fore-and-aft whole-body vibration (0.25–10Hz) at four vibration magnitudes (0.125, 0.25, 0.625, and 1.25ms-2rms). Subjects sat in each of four sitting postures having varying foot heights, so as to produce differing thigh contact with the seat. The fore-and-aft forces on the seat depended on whether the feet were supported on a footrest: peaks were found at two frequencies when the feet were not supported, compared to only one peak when the feet were supported. The fore-and-aft forces at the backrest were high, with their peak magnitudes correlated with subject mass. Vertical forces were high on the seat but not on the backrest. Lateral forces were relatively low on both the seat and the backrest. In all directions, forces on the seat and the backrest showed a nonlinear behaviour. In comparison with a previous study undertaken with no backrest, it was found that the backrest reduced forces on the seat at low frequencies (in the fore-and-aft and vertical directions) but increased these forces at high frequencies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the Cambrian–Ordovician sandstones of south-west Jordan, the spectacular scenery that has developed under arid conditions includes the presence of low-angle (<10°) ramp slopes lying beneath vertical cliffs and running down to adjacent wadi beds or playas. The ramps are depositional features built of fine debris with occasional larger clasts and may be mantled by weathered boulders in their upper parts. These ramps are especially well displayed in the Ishrin Sandstone, but seem to be the landforms rarely, if ever reported from desert environments. The analysis of ramp geomorphology and sedimentology, and of rock slopes above the ramps, strongly suggests that most of the material that makes up the ramps is provided by catastrophic rockfalls. Rockfall debris is subjected to efficient salt weathering and quickly disintegrates into easily transported fine-grained material which, redistributed by surface wash, builds the ramps. The uniqueness of the ramps arises from a combination of lithological and environmental factors, the former accounting for the high frequency of rockfalls in the Ishrin sandstone, the latter being responsible for the efficacy of salt weathering and surface wash. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Definitions of the ‘foreshore’ are described as presented in various coastal geomorphological and related textbooks. To many geomorphologists, the term foreshore is considered synonymous with the intertidal zone. These definitions are compared with the legal definitions of the foreshore as exist in Britain under the three different property law regimes: English, Scottish and Udal law. The legal definitions and many of the geomorphological definitions are based on tidal data. The differences between the observed tides at a tide gauge and on a beach at a distance from the gauge are considered. It is concluded that the term foreshore has a very specific legal meaning in each property law regime, therefore the authors propose that the term ‘foreshore’ should be used to relate to the legally defined area of the coast and, unless specifically referring to the foreshore, scientists should use the term intertidal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is one of the minor constituents of the water ice covered surfaces of the jovian satellites Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Here we demonstrate that H2O2 production may be initiated by the dissociative electron attachment (DEA) of low-energy electrons (LEEs) to water molecules. Electronic excitation or ionization by electrons also contributes to H2O2 formation at higher electron energies. Finally, we show that hydroperoxyl (HO2) radicals could be formed on the surfaces of icy satellites by LEE impact. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The chronology of landslides of Valles Marineris, the equatorial trough system of Mars, has been investigated by a crater population study. Valles Marineris landslides have widespread debris aprons which offer a remarkable opportunity to study the crater population with high resolution images from Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) and from Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS). Sixty-six ages were determined within Valles Marineris including 56 landslide ages and 10 ages of the canyon floor. Results reveal that landslides of Valles Marineris system of canyons occurred during a widespread period of time between 3.5 Gy and 50 My. In some locations, the canyon floor has an apparent age of 3.5 Gy suggesting that at least locally within Valles Marineris no major refreshing processes have occurred for 3.5 Gy. The temporal repetitivity of landslides implies that the triggering mechanisms of the landslides are reproducible in time. Landslides have the same features whatever their age. The dynamic of these landslides is probably the same either with intervention of water up to recently (the last 100 My) or without water since 3.5 Gy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Mangroves have long been associated with human populations, as coastal communities rely on the various ecosystem services that mangroves provide. However, human degradation and destruction of mangrove forests is common, despite and because of our reliance on them as valuable ecosystems. Mangrove research and management must elucidate and reconcile these conflicts to maintain mangrove forests and the services that humans depend on. To better understand the complex dynamics, interactions and relationships that exist between mangroves and coastal communities, the 5th Mangrove Macrobenthos and Management (MMM5) conference was held in Singapore in July 2019, with the theme " Mangroves and People: Impacts and Interactions". This theme was chosen because Southeast Asia is the epicentre of ongoing mangrove loss, and a large number of coastal communities in the region rely on the ecosystem services that mangroves provide. The 32 papers published in this Special Issue represent the breadth of mangrove research presented at MMM5, including topics in faunal biology, ecosystem ecology, genetics, physical geography, biogeochemistry, remote sensing and the social sciences. The articles are characterized under the following topics: 1) mangrove ecosystem functioning; 2) range expansion of mangroves; 3) ecosystem services of mangroves; 4) anthropogenic and natural threats to mangroves; and 5) the management and social-ecology of mangroves. This Special Issue highlights the current state of the art of mangrove research and application, and describes a number of emerging new ideas and research opportunities that will continue to advance mangrove ecosystem science into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]