Permian Palynofloral Assemblages of the Chaco-Paraná Basin (Argentina): Systematics and Stratigraphic Significance

Core samples from an upper Palaeozoic, partly glaciogene borehole section (Ordóñez: YPF Cd O es-1) in the southern Chaco-Paraná Basin (Córdoba Province, northeastern Argentina) have produced variable palynological results. Samples from the lower part of the section (i.e., from the diamictite-bearing upper Ordóñez Formation) proved non-palyniferous. Those from the overlying, essentially post-glacial Victoriano Rodríguez Formation yielded spore-pollen assemblages in varying concentrations and in good to excellent states of preservation, thus providing the material basis for the present account. The palynomorph taxa represented in the assemblages comprise 20 species of spores (distributed among 14 genera) and 25 species of pollen grains (14 genera). The majority of the species are described in systematic detail. One trilete spore species -Convolutispora archangelskyi- is newly proposed. Several other, possibly new species (three of trilete spores, one of monosaccate pollen) are represented insufficiently for other than informal naming. The following new combinations, also of trilete spore species, are instituted: Converrucosisporites confluens (Archangelsky & Gamerro, 1979), C. micronodosus (Balme & Hennelly, 1956), and Anapiculatisporites tereteangulatus (Balme & Hennelly, 1956). Sculptural intergradation (granulate through verrucate) among three species -Granulatisporites austroamericanus Archangelsky & Gamerro, 1979, C. confluens, and C. micronodosus- prompts their informal grouping, proposed herein, as the Converrucosisporites confluens Morphon, which is also recognizable elsewhere in the Gondwanan Permian. The possibility, if not the likelihood, that G. austroamericanus is conspecific with Microbaculispora tentula Tiwari, 1965 is canvassed. The palynologically productive borehole section of the Victoriano Rodríguez Formation studied here is assignable to the middle to upper Cristatisporites Zone and to the succeeding Striatites Zone, thus signifying an Early Permian age for this section and facilitating correlation with strata of the Paraná and Paganzo Basins. From this and prior work, the Ordóñez well sequence embracing the Ordóñez and Victoriano Rodríguez Formations includes, in addition to the latter two zones, the preceding (late Pennsylvanian) Potonieisporites-Lundbladispora Zone which is known from the lower to mid-upper part of the Ordóñez Formation. Thus, the Carboniferous-Permian boundary can be inferred to lie within the upper part of the latter formation

Analysis of the wind field and heat budget in an alpine lake basin during summertime fair weather conditions

Observational data collected in the Lake Tekapo hydro catchment of the Southern Alps in New Zealand are used to analyse the wind and temperature fields in the alpine lake basin during summertime fair weather conditions. Measurements from surface stations, pilot balloon and tethersonde soundings, Doppler sodar and an instrumented light aircraft provide evidence of multi-scale interacting wind systems, ranging from microscale slope winds to mesoscale coast-to-basin flows. Thermal forcing of the winds occurred due to differential heating as a consequence of orography and heterogeneous surface features, which is quantified by heat budget and pressure field analysis. The daytime vertical temperature structure was characterised by distinct layering. Features of particular interest are the formation of thermal internal boundary layers due to the lake-land discontinuity and the development of elevated mixed layers. The latter were generated by advective heating from the basin and valley sidewalls by slope winds and by a superimposed valley wind blowing from the basin over Lake Tekapo and up the tributary Godley Valley. Daytime heating in the basin and its tributary valleys caused the development of a strong horizontal temperature gradient between the basin atmosphere and that over the surrounding landscape, and hence the development of a mesoscale heat low over the basin. After noon, air from outside the basin started flowing over mountain saddles into the basin causing cooling in the lowest layers, whereas at ridge top height the horizontal air temperature gradient between inside and outside the basin continued to increase. In the early evening, a more massive intrusion of cold air caused rapid cooling and a transition to a rather uniform slightly stable stratification up to about 2000 m agl. The onset time of this rapid cooling varied about 1-2 h between observation sites and was probably triggered by the decay of up-slope winds inside the basin, which previously countered the intrusion of air over the surrounding ridges. The intrusion of air from outside the basin continued until about mid-night, when a northerly mountain wind from the Godley Valley became dominant. The results illustrate the extreme complexity that can be caused by the operation of thermal forcing processes at a wide range of spatial scales.

Numerical simulations of wind and temperature structure within an Alpine lake basin, Lake Tekapo, New Zealand

High-resolution numerical model simulations have been used to study the local and mesoscale thermal circulations in an Alpine lake basin. The lake (87 km(2)) is situated in the Southern Alps, New Zealand and is located in a glacially excavated rock basin surrounded by mountain ranges that reach 3000 m in height. The mesoscale model used (RAMS) is a three-dimensional non-hydrostatic model with a level 2.5 turbulence closure scheme. The model demonstrates that thermal forcing at local (within the basin) and regional (coast-to-basin inflow) scales drive the observed boundary-layer airflow in the lake basin during clear anticyclonic summertime conditions. The results show that the lake can modify (perturb) both the local and regional wind systems. Following sunrise, local thermal circulations dominate, including a lake breeze component that becomes embedded within the background valley wind system. This results in a more divergent flow in the basin extending across the lake shoreline. However, a closed lake breeze circulation is neither observed nor modelled. Modelling results indicate that in the latter part of the day when the mesoscale (coast-to-basin) inflow occurs, the relatively cold pool of lake air in the basin can cause the intrusion to decouple from the surface. Measured data provide qualitative and quantitative support for the model results.

Novos desafios para a capacita????o de lideran??a de alto n??vel na gest??o p??blica e governan??a em um mundo globalizante

Este artigo aborda as mudan??as econ??micas, sociais, ambientais e comportamentais que est??o ocorrendo no planeta, visando a estabelecer um contexto que sirva de base para o tipo de capacita????o mais adequado para os n??veis gerenciais de governo. A partir de tr??s fatores interdependentes ??? globaliza????o, difus??o da democracia e impactos na governan??a ??? ?? proposta uma estrutura de capacita????o, focalizando 12 diferentes ??reas.

Práticas corporais na comunidade tradicional Alto Santa Maria : continuidades e descontinuidades

O objetivo do estudo foi identificar jogos, danças, brincadeiras e outras práticas corporais para analisar o processo de sua apreensão pelos sujeitos nas dinâmicas de relações sociais das comunidades. Em menor instância, os objetivos foram listados para analisar os momentos de continuidade, descontinuidade e/ou ruptura das tradições que ocorrem ao se desenvolver as práticas corporais e identificar e analisar as relações registradas nos espaços de “entrega” e “recepção” dessas tradições. Para tanto, ao propor a investigação das práticas corporais de comunidades tradicionais como nosso objeto de estudo, decidimos analisar Alto Santa Maria, do estado do Espírito Santo, localizada no município de Santa Maria de Jetibá, elegendo como sujeitos deste estudo crianças e adultos da comunidade pomerana. A partir de uma abordagem qualitativa, num primeiro momento foi realizado um levantamento bibliográfico e, posteriormente, o trabalho em campo para a coleta de dados por meio de entrevistas abertas e da técnica de observação assistemática de campo. A análise das entrevistas foi realizada de forma interpretativa, buscando apreender nas falas dos sujeitos, e de forma qualitativamente satisfatória,as categorias previamente selecionadas. A análise dos dados permitiu reconhecer, dentre os vários elementos da identidade cultural, a cultura corporal com relaçãoàspráticas corporais locais. Em Alto Santa Maria, elas se inscrevem em um contexto dinâmico, no qual se registram tanto tradicionais quanto não-tradicionais. Desta forma, concluímos que as práticas corporais, como jogos, brincadeiras e danças, materializam-se, nos contextos descritos, simultaneamente como práticas pomeranas ou externas à comunidade, mas que hoje fazem parte das práticas culturais do Alto Santa Maria, conduzindo a um diálogo entre elas.