A pollen/dinoflagellate chronology for DSDP Site 480, Gulf of California

DSDP Site 480 in the Gulf of California represents a paleoclimatic record of great potential significance. Much of the 152-meter section is varved, which means that proxy records of climatic change can be analyzed with unusual precision on a variety of time scales. In this paper we present pollen and dinoflagellate evidence that suggests that the base of the section is much older than was previously thought. We propose a basal date of between 300,000 and 350,000 YBP.

Field emission site densities of nanostructured carbon

The field emission properties of nanostructured carbon films deposited by cathodic vacuum arc in a He atmosphere have been studied by measuring the emission currents and the emission site density. The films have an onset field of ∼ 3 V/μm. The emission site density is viewed on a phosphor anode and it increases rapidly with applied field. It is assumed that the emission occurs from surface regions with a range of field enhancement factors but with a constant work function. The field enhancement factor is found to have an exponential distribution.

Environmental and social impact monitoring of the Bujagali Hydropower Project (BHPP), Uganda Fisheries Component: monthly patterns in physico-chemical conditions and fish catch in the immediate vicinity of the Bujagali Hydropower construction site, 29th September - 28th October 2007

Following the commencement of construction works of a 250 MW hydropower plant at Dumbbell Island in the Upper Victoria Nile in September 2007, BEL requested NaFIRRI to conduct continuous monitoring of fish catches at two transects i.e. the immediate upstream transect of the project site (Kalange-Makwanzi) and the immediate downstream .transect (Buyala-Kikubamutwe). The routine monitoring surveys were designed to be conducted twice a week at each of the tWo transects. It was anticipated that major immediate impacts were to occur during construction, and these needed to be known by BEL as part of a mitigation strategy. For example, the construction of it cofferdam could be accompanied by rapid changes in water quality and quantity downstream of the construction. These changes in turn could affect the fish catch and would probably be missed by the quarterly monitoring already in place. Therefore, a major cbjective of the more regular and rapid monitoring was to discern immediate impacts of construction activities by focusing on selected water quality parameters (total suspended solids, water conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH) and fish catch characteristics (total catch, catch rates and value of the catch)