Injury prevention in natural disasters. A theoretical framework

A theoretical framework for conceptualizing injury patterns in natural disasters is described. In this conceptual framework, natural disasters are divided chronologically into predisaster, disaster and postdisaster phases. Within each phase, four factors (human, engineering/technological, physical environmental and socioeconomic) are identified that play an important role in the causation of injury. By combining these phases and factors into a three by four matrix, one may begin to identify points in the natural history or evolution of a disaster that may be amenable to therapeutic or preventive intervention. The application of this proposed three-phase matrix model to a disaster will permit researchers to reduce a large, complex problem into more manageable, conceptually simpler parts. It may also be of value to disaster planners by suggesting preventive and mitigation measures, as well as aiding in the setting of priorities so that scarce resources can be allocated to achieve maximum reduction of injuries.     

Plutonium as a chronomarker in Australian and New Zealand sediments: a comparison with Cs

The construction of high resolution chronologies of sediment profiles corresponding to the last 50-100 years usually entails the measurement of fallout radionuclides ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs. The anthropogenic radionuclide, ¹³⁷Cs, originating from atmospheric nuclear weapons testing can provide an important “first appearance” horizon of known age (1954-1955), providing much-needed validation for the sometimes uncertain interpretations associated with ²¹⁰Pb geochronology. However, while ¹³⁷Cs usually provides a strong signal in sediment in the northern hemisphere, total fallout of ¹³⁷Cs in the southern hemisphere was only 25% that of the north and the low activities of ¹³⁷Cs seen in Australian and New Zealand sediments can make its horizon of first appearance somewhat arguable. Low ¹³⁷Cs fallout also limited the size of the 1963-1964 fallout peak, a peak that is usually seen in northern hemisphere sediment profiles but is often difficult to discern south of the equator.This paper shows examples of the use of nuclear weapons fallout Pu as a chronomarker in sediment cores from Australia (3 sites) and New Zealand (1 site). The Pu profiles of five cores are examined and compared with the corresponding ¹³⁷Cs profiles and ²¹⁰Pb geochronologies. We find that Pu has significant advantages over ¹³⁷Cs, including greater measurement sensitivity using alpha spectrometry and mass spectrometric techniques compared to ¹³⁷Cs measurements by gamma spectrometry. Moreover, Pu provides additional chronomarkers associated with changes in the Pu isotopic composition of fallout during the 1950s and 1960s. In particular, the ²³⁸Pu/^239+240Pu activity ratio shows distinct shifts in the early 1950s and the mid to late 1960s, providing important known-age horizons in southern hemisphere sediments. For estuarine and near-shore sediments Pu sometimes has another significant advantage over ¹³⁷Cs due to its enrichment in bottom sediment relative to ¹³⁷Cs resulting from the more efficient scavenging of dissolved Pu in seawater by sediment particles.     

西藏羊卓雍错沉积物沉积速率的测定

利用~(210)Pb和~(137)Cs测定了西藏羊卓雍错湖泊沉积物的沉积速率。结果表明,羊卓雍错湖心和北部湖区沉积柱中的~(137)Cs都只有一个蓄积峰。假定对应的时标为1963年,据此得出的沉积物累积率分别为0. 014 5 g/(cm~2·a)和0. 025 2g/(cm~2·a),对应的年均沉积速率分别为0. 041 cm/a和0. 068 cm/a;而~(210)Pb的结果显示,羊卓雍错湖心和北部湖区的沉积物累积率分别为0. 014 6 g/(cm~2·a)和0. 014 7 g/(cm~2·a),对应的年均沉积速率分别为0. 040 cm/a和0. 041 cm/a。~(210)Pb和~(137)Cs的定年结果在北部湖区的定年结果差别较大,很可能是由于湖水在北部湖区的渗漏,导致沉积物中Cs的纵向迁移造成的。     

伊犁地区历史径流深度场的重建

本文利用伊犁地区的树轮年表，首先进行年轮场与流量场的典型相关计算，揭示出两场间的较好相关性；进而重建伊犁地区流量场，分析其主要空间分布型；最后在绘制伊犁地区１８０年来四个径流丰枯阶段径流深度等值线图的基础上，计算各丰枯期的地表水资源量值，并讨论其历史变化，得出了一些有益的结论。     

Mercury levels in sediments of central Mediterranean Sea: a 150+ year record from box-cores recovered in the Strait of Sicily

To evaluate the degree of anthropogenic mercury pollution, Hg contents have been measured for box-core sediments sampled along three nearshore–offshore transects in the Strait of Sicily and well constrained for their mineralogy, bulk geochemistry and TOC%. Hg values are generally low (from 15 to 70 μg kg⁻¹); however, depth profiles clearly display upcore rising concentrations (up to 202 μg kg⁻¹ near the SE Sicily coast) that are attributed to anthropogenic load. Based on ²¹⁰Pb chronology, these trends are more dramatic across the last 20–30 years. Geogenic influence is thought to explain some anomalies related to volcanic emission and geothermal activity. Combined effects due to eastward flowing of the Modified Atlantic Water (MAW) and sea bottom morphology drove major anthropogenic accumulation.     

天山云杉和西伯利亚落叶松的树轮气候记录

利用天山北坡中东部高海拔森林的6个树轮宽度年表，通过相关函数和响应分析，结果表明：生长在该地区的天山云杉和西伯利亚落叶松对气候要素的响应模式都与“普遍认为森林上限的树木生长主要受气温影响”有着显著的差异。天山北坡中部的天山云杉对气温和降水都有较好的响应关系。天山东部巴里坤森林上限附近生长的西伯利亚落叶松的生长与气候的相关显示：5月平均气温和5月降水量对树木生长影响最大（都呈显著负相关），春季（3-5月）降水量、生长季（4-9月）降水量和全年降水量以及湿润指数都与树木生长呈显著负相关，这与祁连山中部森林上限青海云杉主要受水分限制表现出了较好的一致性，同时也说明同处于干旱半干旱区森林上限的不同树种对气候变化的响应具有相同的区域性特征。     

西藏邱桑温泉古人类手脚印的年代测定及其岩面艺术价值

青藏高原中部海拔超过4000 m的中更世古人类手脚印的发现引起了国内外古环境、考古、人类史学界的广泛关注,并予以很高评价。众多评论文章中,《河北师范大学学报（哲学与社会科学版）》上有一篇题为《西藏邱桑温泉手脚印遗迹及相关问题》的文章,对手脚印研究中的“年代”和“岩面艺术如何界定”这两个方面提出了质疑。因此特撰写此文,对这两个方面的质疑做出回应。本文将系统梳理Zhang et al.(2021)所发表的手脚印“岩面艺术”中有关“年代学”和“艺术界定”这两方面的内容,从U-Th测年在碳酸盐沉积中的应用和史前艺术的特征等方面来解答部分学者对此研究存在的疑虑和误导,并提出本文的看法：U-Th法是目前对邱桑温泉方解石泉华进行年龄测定的最合适方法,所测的年代是可靠的,并且“岩面艺术”一词是这些手脚印组合最适合的名称。