The Problematic of Privacy in the Namespace

In the twenty-first century, the issue of privacy--particularly the privacy of individuals with regard to their personal information and effects--has become highly contested terrain, producing a crisis that affects both national and global social formations. This crisis, or problematic, characterizes a particular historical conjuncture I term the namespace. Using cultural studies and the theory of articulation, I map the emergent ways that the namespace articulates economic, juridical, political, cultural, and technological forces, materials, practices and protocols. The cohesive articulation of the namespace requires that privacy be reframed in ways that make its diminution seem natural and inevitable. In the popular media, privacy is often depicted as the price we pay as citizens and consumers for security and convenience, respectively. This discursive ideological shift supports and underwrites the interests of state and corporate actors who leverage the ubiquitous network of digitally connected devices to engender a new regime of informational surveillance, or dataveillance. The widespread practice of dataveillance represents a strengthening of the hegemonic relations between these actors--each shares an interest in promoting an emerging surveillance society, a burgeoning security politics, and a growing information economy--that further empowers them to capture and store the personal information of citizens/consumers. In characterizing these shifts and the resulting crisis, I also identify points of articulation vulnerable to rearticulation and suggest strategies for transforming the namespace in ways that might empower stronger protections for privacy and related civil rights.

Possible Effects of Anthropogenically-Increased CO2 on the Dynamics of Climate: Implications for Ice-Age Cycles

A dynamical model, developed to account for the observed major variations of global ice mass and atmospheric CO2 during the late Cenozoic, is used to provide a quantitative demonstration of the possibility that the anthropogenically-forced increase of atmospheric CO2, if maintained over a long period of time (perhaps by tectonic forcing), could displace the climatic system from an unstable regime of oscillating ice ages into a more stable regime representative of the pre-Pleistocene. This stable regime is characterized by orbitally-forced oscillations that are of much weaker amplitude than prevailed during the Pleistocene.

Interpolation of hard and soft dilepton rates

Strict next-to-leading order (NLO) results for the dilepton production rate from a QCD plasma at temperatures above a few hundred MeV suffer from a breakdown of the loop expansion in the regime of soft invariant masses M 2 ≪ (πT)2. In this regime an LPM resummation is needed for obtaining the correct leading-order result. We show how to construct an interpolation between the hard NLO and the leading-order LPM expression, which is theoretically consistent in both regimes and free from double counting. The final numerical results are presented in a tabulated form, suitable for insertion into hydrodynamical codes.

Stability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation: A model intercomparison.

The evolution of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) in 30 models of varying complexity is examined under four distinct Representative Concentration Pathways. The models include 25 Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models (AOGCMs) or Earth System Models (ESMs) that submitted simulations in support of the 5th phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) and 5 Earth System Models of Intermediate Complexity (EMICs). While none of the models incorporated the additional effects of ice sheet melting, they all projected very similar behaviour during the 21st century. Over this period the strength of MOC reduced by a best estimate of 22% (18%–25%; 5%–95% confidence limits) for RCP2.6, 26% (23%–30%) for RCP4.5, 29% (23%–35%) for RCP6.0 and 40% (36%–44%) for RCP8.5. Two of the models eventually realized a slow shutdown of the MOC under RCP8.5, although no model exhibited an abrupt change of the MOC. Through analysis of the freshwater flux across 30°–32°S into the Atlantic, it was found that 40% of the CMIP5 models were in a bistable regime of the MOC for the duration of their RCP integrations. The results support previous assessments that it is very unlikely that the MOC will undergo an abrupt change to an off state as a consequence of global warming.

A Critique of Authenticity and Recognition

While forms of ethics based upon authenticity and recognition are holding sway in contemporary philosophical debates (Ferrara, Honneth, Fraser, etc.), many of the implications of both processes – conceptual, moral, political – are still insufficiently reflected upon. The talk will offer a “critique” (in the Kantian sense) of both, based upon an analysis of the “semiotics” of authenticity and the resulting perpetuation of a regime of authority of experts, as well as commenting upon the striking absence of the realm of literature and the arts from this debate, except in some references to a rather abstract notion of Aesthetics. It will also critically revaluate the concept of agency implicit in an ethics of authenticity and recognition.

Paleohydraulic reconstruction of a 40 kyr-old terrace sequence implies that water discharge was larger than today

The evolution of landscapes crucially depends on the climate history. This is particularly evident in South America where landscape responses to orbital climate shifts have been well documented. However, while most studies have focused on inferring temperature variations from paleoclimate proxy data, estimates of water budget changes have been complicated because of a lack of adequate physical information. Here, we present a methodology and related results, which allowed us to extract water discharge values from the sedimentary record of the 40 Ka-old fluvial terrace deposits in the Pisco valley, western Peru. In particular, this valley hosts a Quaternary cut-and-fill succession that we used, in combination with beryllium-10 (10Be)-based sediment flux, gauging records, channel geometries and grain size measurements, to quantitatively assess sediment and water discharge values c. 40 Ka ago in relation to present-day conditions. We compare these discharge estimates to the discharge regime of the modern Pisco River and find that the water discharge of the paleo-Pisco River, during the Minchin pluvial period c. 40 Ka ago, was c. 7–8 times greater than the modern Pisco River if considering the mean and the maximum water discharge. In addition, the calculations show that inferred water discharge estimates are mainly dependent on channel gradients and grain size values, and to a lesser extent on channel width measures. Finally, we found that the c. 40 Ka-old Minchin terrace material was poorer sorted than the modern deposits, which might reflect that sediment transport during the past period was characterized by a larger divergence from equal mobility compared to the modern situation. In summary, the differences in grain size distribution and inferred water discharge estimates between the modern and the paleo-Pisco River suggests that the 40 Ka-old Minchin period was characterized by a wetter climate and more powerful flood events.

Compound specific stable isotopes, BIT, pollen and spores of Miocene to Pliocene sediments of ODP Hole 175-1085A

Pollen and stable carbon (d13C) and hydrogen (dD) isotope ratios of terrestrial plant wax from the South Atlantic sediment core, ODP Site 1085, is used to reconstruct Miocene to Pliocene changes of vegetation and rainfall regime of western southern Africa. Our results reveal changes in the relative amount of precipitation and indicate a shift of the main moisture source from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean during the onset of a major aridification 8 Ma ago. We emphasise the importance of declining precipitation during the expansion of C4 and CAM (mainly succulent) vegetation in South Africa. We suggest that the C4 plant expansion resulted from an increased equator-pole temperature gradient caused by the initiation of strong Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation following the shoaling of the Central American Seaway during the Late Miocene.

Major and trace element compositions of the Buendnerschiefer samples

The Bündnerschiefer of the Swiss-Italian Alps is a large sedimentary complex deposited on the Piemonte-Liguria and Valais oceans and associated continental margins from the upper Jurassic to Eocene. It is made of a large variety of sequences associated or not with an ophiolitic basement. The Bündnerschiefer makes an accretionary prism that developed syn-tectonically from the onset of alpine subduction, and it records orogenic metamorphism following episodes of HP metamorphism. The Bündnerschiefer shares important similarities with the Otago schists of New Zealand and with the Wepawaug schists of Connecticut, both of which form accretionary prisms and have an orogenic metamorphic imprint. With the aim of testing the hypothesis of mobility of chemical components as a function of metamorphic grade, in this work I present fifty-five bulk chemical analyses of various lithological facies of the Bündnerschiefer collected along the well-studied field gradient of the Lepontine dome of Central Switzerland, in the Prättigau half window of East Switzerland, and in the Tsaté Nappe of Valle d'Aosta (Italy). The dataset includes the concentration of major components, large ion lithophile elements (Rb, Sr, Ba, Cs), high field strength elements (Zr, Ti, Nb, Th, U, Ta, Hf), fluid-mobile light elements (B, Li), volatiles (CO2, S), REEs, and Y, V, Cr, Co, Sn, Pb, Cu, Zn, Tl, Sb, Be, and Au. These data are compared against the compositions of the global marine sediment reservoir, typical crustal reservoirs, and against the previously measured compositions of Otago and Wepawaug schists. Results reveal that, irrespective of their metamorphic evolution, the bulk chemical compositions of orogenic metasediments are characterized by mostly constant compositional ratios (e.g., K2O/Al2O3, Ba/Al2O3, Sr/CaO, etc.), whose values in most cases are undistinguishable from those of actual marine sediments and other crustal reservoirs. For these rocks, only volatile concentrations decrease dramatically as a function of metamorphic temperature, and significant deviations from the reservoir signatures are evident for SiO2, B, and Li. These results are interpreted as an indication of residual enrichment in the sediments, a process taking place during syn-metamorphic dehydration from the onset of metamorphism in a regime of chemical immobility. Residual enrichment increased the absolute concentrations of the chemical components of these rocks, but did not modify significantly their fundamental ratios. This poor compositional modification of the sediments indicates that orogenic metamorphism in general does not promote significant mass transfer from accretionary prisms. In contrast, mass transfer calculations carried out in a shear zone crosscutting the Bündnerschiefer shows that significant mass transfer occurs within these narrow zones, resulting in gains of H2O, SiO2, Al2O3, K2O, Ba, Y, Rb, Cu, V, Tl, Mo, and Ce during deformation and loss of Na2O, CO2, S, Ni, B, U, and Pb from the rock. These components were presumably transported by an aquo-carbonic fluid along the shear zone. These distinct attitudes to mobilize chemical elements from orogenic sediments may have implications for a potentially large number of geochemical processes in active continental margins, from the recycling of chemical components at plate margins to the genesis of hydrothermal ore deposits.

Deep drilling of glaciers: Russian projects in the Arctic (1975-1995)

The data collection "Deep Drilling of Glaciers: Soviet-Russian projects in Arctic, 1975-1995" was collected by the following basic considerations: - compilation of deep (>100 m) drilling projects on Arctic glaciers, using data of (a) publications; (b) archives of IGRAN; (c) personal communication of project participants; - documentation of parameters, references. Accuracy of data and techniques applied to determine different parameters are not evaluated. The accuracy of some geochemical parameters (up to 1984 and heavy metalls) is uncertain. Most reconstructions of ice core age and of annual layer thickness are discussed; - digitizing of published diagrams (in case, when original numerical data were lost) and subsequent data conversion to equal range series and adjustment to the common units. Therefore, the equal-range series were calculated from original data or converted from digitized chart values as indicated in the metadata. For the methodological purpose, the equal-range series obtained from original and reconstructed data were compared repeatedly; the systematic difference was less then 5-7%. Special attention should be given to the fact, that the data for individual ice core parameters varies, because some parameters were originally measured or registered. Parameters were converted in equal-range series using 2 m steps; - two or more parameter values were determined, then the mean-weighted (i.e. accounting the sample length) value is assigned to the entire interval; - one parameter value was determined, measured or registered independently from the parameter values in depth intervals which over- and underlie it, then the value is assigned to the entire interval; - one parameter value was determined, measured or registered for two adjoining depth intervals, then the specific value is assigned to the depth interval, which represents >75% of sample length ; if each of adjoining depth intervals represents <75% of sample length, then the correspondent parameter value is assigned to both intervals of depth. This collection of ice core data (version 2000) was made available through the EU funded QUEEN project by S.M. Arkhipov, Moscow.

Eolian accumulation rates of ODP Leg 121 holes

The late Cenozoic history of eolian sedimentation in the eastern Indian Ocean was developed from samples recovered during drilling of Sites 752, 754, and 756. Temporal changes in the mass accumulation rate of eolian material reflect major climatic shifts in the southern African source region. A significant drop in dust mass flux values occurs near the end of the lower Oligocene. Younger sediments are characterized by a gradual reduction in dust accumulation rates until the middle Miocene after which values remain consistently low throughout the late Cenozoic, although a slight increase in eolian accumulation rate occurs near 2.5 Ma. This pattern of dust mass flux appears related to the supply of dust-sized particles in the source region and represents a shift in the climatic regime of southern Africa to increasingly more arid conditions throughout the late Cenozoic.

Biological, physical and chemical characteristics of water and sediment samples from the Volga River delta, northern Caspian

Based on the data of synchronous observations of hydrophysical and biogeochemical parameters in the near-mouth and shallow-water areas of the northern Caspian in 2000-2001, the scale of spatiotemporal variability in the following characteristics of the water-bottom system was estimated (1) flow velocity and direction within vortex structures formed by the combined effect of wind, discharge current, and the presence of higher aquatic plants; (2) dependence of the spatial distribution of the content and composition of suspended particulate matter on the hydrodynamic regime of waters and development of phytoplankton; (3) variations in the grain-size, petrographic, mineralogical, and chemical compositions of the upper layer of bottom sediments at several sites in the northern Caspian related to the particular local combination of dominant natural processes; and (4) limits of variability in the group composition of humus compounds in bottom sediments. The acquired data are helpful in estimating the geochemical consequences of a sea level rise and during the planning of preventive environmental protection measures in view of future oil and gas recovery in this region.