Bulletin.

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Annual Report of the Public Schools

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Mining Law Reform Act of 1991 and the Minerals Policy Review Commission Act of 1991 : hearing before the Subcommittee on Mineral Resources Development and Production of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Second Congress, first session, on S. 433 ... S. 785 ... June 11, 1991.

Item 1040-A, 1040-B (MF).

Modeling the age of tropical moist forest fragments in heavily-cleared lowland landscapes of Colombia

Increasingly, large areas of native tropical forests are being transformed into a mosaic of human dominated land uses with scattered mature remnants and secondary forests. In general, at the end of the land clearing process, the landscape will have two forest components: a stable component of surviving mature forests, and a dynamic component of secondary forests of different ages. As the proportion of mature forests continues to decline, secondary forests play an increasing role in the conservation and restoration of biodiversity. This paper aims to predict and explain spatial and temporal patterns in the age of remnant mature and secondary forests in lowland Colombian landscapes. We analyse the age distributions of forest fragments, using detailed temporal land cover data derived from aerial photographs. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was applied to model the spatial dynamics of mature and secondary forest patches. In particular, the effect of soil fertility, accessibility and auto-correlated neighbourhood terms on forest age and time of isolation of remnant patches was assessed. In heavily transformed landscapes, forests account for approximately 8% of the total landscape area, of which three quarters are comprised of secondary forests. Secondary forest growth adjacent to mature forest patches increases mean patch size and core area, and therefore plays an important ecological role in maintaining landscape structure. The regression models show that forest age is positively associated with the amount of neighbouring forest, and negatively associated with the amount of neighbouring secondary vegetation, so the older the forest is the less secondary vegetation there is adjacent to it. Accessibility and soil fertility also have a negative but variable influence on the age of forest remnants. The probability of future clearing if current conditions hold is higher for regenerated than mature forests. The challenge of biodiversity conservation and restoration in dynamic and spatially heterogeneous landscape mosaics composed of mature and secondary forests is discussed. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Remote sensing applied to land use and erosion hazard studies in Jamaica

The northern half of the parish of St. Catherine in Jamaica was selected as a test area to study, by means of remote sensing, the problems of soil erosion in a tropical environment. An initial study was carried out to determine whether eroded land within this environment could be successfully interpreted and mapped from the available 1: 25,000 scale aerial photographs. When satisfied that a sufficiently high percentage of the eroded land could be interpreted on the aerial photographs the main study was initiated. This involved interpreting the air photo cover of the study area for identifying and classifying land use and eroded land, and plotting the results on overlays on topographic base maps. These overlays were then composited with data on the soils and slopes of the study area. The areas of different soil type/slope/land use combinations were then measured, as was the area of eroded land for each of these combinations. This data was then analysed in two ways. The first way involved determining which of the combinations of soil type, slope and land use were most and least eroded and, on the basis of this, to draw up recommendations concerning future land use. The second analysis was aimed at determining which of the three factors, soil type, slope and land use, was most responsible for determining the rate of erosion. Although it was possible to show that slope was not very significant in determining the rate of erosion, it was much more difficult to separate the effects of land use and soil type. The results do, however, suggest that land use is more significant than soil type in determining the rate of erosion within the study area.

Remote sensing applied to slope stability in mountainous roads in Iran

The Alborz Mountain range separates the northern part of Iran from the southern part. It also isolates a narrow coastal strip to the south of the Caspian Sea from the Central Iran plateau. Communication between the south and north until the 1950's was via two roads and one rail link. In 1963 work was completed on a major access road via the Haraz Valley (the most physically hostile area in the region). From the beginning the road was plagued by accidents resulting from unstable slopes on either side of the valley. Heavy casualties persuaded the government to undertake major engineering works to eliminate ''black spots" and make the road safe. However, despite substantial and prolonged expenditure the problems were not solved and casualties increased steadily due to the increase in traffic using the road. Another road was built to bypass the Haraz road and opened to traffic in 1983. But closure of the Haraz road was still impossible because of the growth of settlements along the route and the need for access to other installations such as the Lar Dam. The aim of this research was to explore the possibility of applying Landsat MSS imagery to locating black spots along the road and the instability problems. Landsat data had not previously been applied to highway engineering problems in the study area. Aerial photographs are better in general than satellite images for detailed mapping, but Landsat images are superior for reconnaissance and adequate for mapping at the 1 :250,000 scale. The broad overview and lack of distortion in the Landsat imagery make the images ideal for structural interpretation. The results of Landsat digital image analysis showed that certain rock types and structural features can be delineated and mapped. The most unstable areas comprising steep slopes, free of vegetation cover can be identified using image processing techniques. Structural lineaments revealed from the image analysis led to improved results (delineation of unstable features). Damavand Quaternary volcanics were found to be the dominant rock type along a 40 km stretch of the road. These rock types are inherently unstable and partly responsible for the difficulties along the road. For more detailed geological and morphological interpretation a sample of small subscenes was selected and analysed. A special developed image analysis package was designed at Aston for use on a non specialized computing system. Using this package a new and unique method for image classification was developed, allowing accurate delineation of the critical features of the study area.

The application of remote sensing to the management of urban wildlife habitats

The project set out with two main aims. The first aim was to determine whether large scale multispectral aerial photography could be used to successfully survey and monitor urban wildlife habitats. The second objective was to investigate whether this data source could be used to predict population numbers of selected species expected to be found in a particular habitat type. Panchromatic, colour and colour infra-red, 1:2500 scale aerial photographs, taken in 1981 and 1984, were used. For the orderly extraction of information from the imagery, an urban wildlife habitat classification was devised. This was based on classifications already in use in urban environments by the Nature Conservancy Council. Pilot tests identified that the colour infra-red imagery provided the most accurate results about urban wildlife habitats in the study area of the Blackbrook Valley, Dudley. Both the 1981 and 1984 colour infra-red photographs were analysed and information was obtained about the type, extent and distribution of habitats. In order to investigate whether large scale aerial photographs could be used to predict likely animal population numbers in urban environments, it was decided to limit the investigation to the possible prediction of bird population numbers in Saltwells Local Nature Reserve. A good deal of research has already been completed into the development of models to predict breeding bird population numbers in woodland habitats. These models were analysed to determine whether they could be used successfully with data extracted from the aerial photographs. The projects concluded that 1:2500 scale colour infra-red photographs can provide very useful and very detailed information about the wildlife habitats in an urban area. Such imagery can also provide habitat area data to be used with population predictive models of woodland breeding birds. Using the aerial photographs, further investigations into the relationship between area of habitat and the breeding of individual bird species were inconclusive and need further research.

An investigation into the Hawaiian mantle from a xenolithic perspective

Salt Lake Crater (SLC), on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, is best known for its wide variety of crustal and mantle xenoliths. SLC is only the second locality in oceanic regimes where deeper portions of the upper mantle (i.e., garnet-bearing xenoliths) have been sampled. These garnet-bearing xenoliths, that contain clinopyroxene (cpx), orthopyroxene (opx), olivine, and garnet, are the focus of this study Opx is present in small amounts. Cpx has exsolved opx, spinel, and garnet. In addition, many xenoliths contain spinel-cored garnets. In some xenoliths, opx crystals contain exsolved cpx and spinel. Olivine, cpx, and garnet are in chemical equilibrium with each other. Opx is not in chemical equilibrium with the other dominant minerals. ^ The origin of these xenoliths is interpreted on the basis of liquidus phase relations in the simplified system CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO 2 (CMAS) system at 3.0 and 5.0 GPa. The occurrence of spinel-cored garnets and the Ol-Cpx-Gt assemblage suggests that the depth of crystallization of the SLC xenoliths examined was ∼100–110 km (i.e., uppermost asthenosphere). ^ The experimental study is concerned with the equilibrium melting of garnet clinopyroxenite at 2.0–2.5 GPa and it explores the role of such melting process in the generation of tholeiitic and alkalic lavas in ocean island basalts (OIBs). The starting material is a tholeiitic picrite in terms of its normative composition. Its solidus temperature is 1295 ± 15°C and 1332 ± 15°C at 2.0 and 2.5 GPa, respectively. At 2.0 GPa, the liquidus phase is opx that is in reaction relation with the melt. It reacts out at ∼40°C below the liquidus as cpx and spinel appear. Garnet appears long after opx disappearance. Opx is absent in runs at 2.5 GPa. Cpx and garnet appear simultaneously on the liquidus at 2.5 GPa, and are the only assemblage throughout the melting interval. At both the pressures, the partial melts are olivine-hypersthene normative at high melt fraction ( F), becoming moderately to strongly nepheline-normative, as F decreases. It is concluded that the involvement of CO 2 (and perhaps H2O) is necessary for the generation of alkalic melts in most OIBs. ^

Evolução espaço-temporal da ocupação urbana sobre áreas naturais no município de Natal-RN

In this work the landscape morphodynamics was used to check the strength and importance of the changes carried out by man on the environment over time, in Natal-RN municipality. The occupation of partially preserved natural areas was analyzed, but environmentally fragile, such as riparian forests, vegetation on the banks of waterways, which play regulatory role of the water flow, and the dunes, which guarantee the rapid recharge of aquifers. The impacts of urban sprawl in Natal Southern and West zones Were identified and characterized, through a detailed mapping in the period between 1969 and 2013 the main Permanent Preservation Areas - PPA (banks of rivers and lagoons, and dunes remaining) and their temporal changes. For this were used aerial photographs and satellite imagery, altimetry data, and pre-existing information, which allowed the creation of a spatial database, and evolution of maps of impervious areas, evolution of the use and occupation and Digital Terrain Model (DTM) from contour lines with contour interval of 1 meter. Based on this study presents a diagnosis of the environmental situation and the state of conservation of natural areas, over the last 44 years, compared to human pressures. In general, it was found that the urban settlement has advanced about 60% of studied natural areas. This advance was growing by the year 2006, when there was a slowdown in the process, except for the Environmental Protection Zone (EPZ) 03, where the river Pitimbú and your PPA, which experienced a more significant loss area. The urban occupation affected the natural drainage and contributed to the contamination of groundwater Natal, due to increased sealed area, the release of liquid and solid waste, as well as the removal of riparian vegetation. Changed irreversibly the natural landscape, and reduced the quality and quantity of water resources necessary for the population. Thus, it is necessary to stimulate the adoption of use and protection of PPA planning measures, to the preservation of the San Valley Region inserted into the EPZ 01, and integrate more remaining dunes, in good condition, this EPZ, due to the importance of those remaining on the environment and the maintenance of quality of life. It is suggested, also, protection of catchment areas, such as PPA ponds and Pitimbú River. Finally, it is expected that this study can assist the managers in making decisions in urban and environmental planning of the municipality

Unidades geoambientais e áreas de preservação permanente como instrumentos de auxílio para o planejamento ambiental - o caso da via costeira de Natal-RN

Brazilian law provides a series of rules and policies which regulate space use and occupancy as well as guide environmental planning. Among those are the Permanent Preservation Areas (PPAs) which purpose is to ensure the preservation of elements that are essential to maintain the environmental function and landscape. Another important instrument identifier of spaces are geoenvironmental units, which are synthesis elements grouping areas of similar characteristics and can be used for the analysis of risk, fragility and potential use of spaces. The geoenvironmental units are defined by more complex processes (information integration), focusing not only on individual elements, but being determined from a systemic analysis. Is It possible to identify and delineate APPs from the identification and determination of geoenvironmental units? The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of geoenvironmental units in the process of identification and delineation of APPs a see how much of the study area, the area by the Coast line in Natal/RN, is still good for occupation. It was used the physiognomic method, in which the limits of the units are plotted on a synthetic document (aerial photographs), valuing aspects of relief in a range of detail by the analysis of systemic categories (element, structure, function and interaction), observed. The methodology used allowed the identification and delineation of eleven geoenvironmental units and, from these, it was possible to identify and delineate four out of the five PPAs occurring in the study area. Only a small space of 1.2 ha of the study area is not considered APP by law. Thus, the occupation of the unoccupied area by the Coast line is not feasible from a legal standpoint. The geoenvironmental units as well as the identified and delineated APPs in the area by the Coast line are spaces which preservation is guaranteed by law in various scopes and are necessary to maintain the environmental functions of the area. The planning for the use and occupation of the area should involve the recovery of degraded areas and the creation of elements that make possible the use as well as attract the community, as provided in the initial planning, by ensuring the public utility and social interest in the Project.

Uso e ocupação do solo e a transformação da paisagem na faixa litorânea da Via Costeira, município de Natal/RN

The coastal area of the city of Natal due to its location and natural potentialities has been an area where we have experienced big changes in its environment, at the expense of several forms of use and human occupation. On the coast of Via Costeira beach the process of use and land occupation was structured at the end of 1970s and early 1980s, as a result of the government policy which has developmental essence, based on the settlement of plenty big enterprises by the Parque das Dunas/Via Costeira Project. This project was created to install in Natal, capital of the state, infrastructure equipment on this stretch of coastline consisted of dune fields and many parts of ecosystems which have high natural relevance and fragility that used to present a semi-isolation in the urban city, for the development of tourist activities, which is considered as a viable economic solution capable of setting right serious socioeconomic problems that had persisted there. According to what was said so far, this study aimed to analyze the forms of use and land occupation besides the change of the landscape along the Via Costeira coast in the city of Natal/RN. These changes often take place without considering the complexity and fragility of natural ecosystems involved. The geoenvironmental study was based on the geosystemic theory, thus It was possible to analyze the human interventions in the superficial aspects of landscapes holistically. The practical procedures were contemplated with literature searches, followed by field work where were fulfilled the recognition and general characterization of the area in order to investigate and analyze the main types of land occupation and its use that have taken place there since big buildings began to come out, being supported by the legislation whose laws are about protection and conservation of coastal natural resources. The research also includes the identification and evaluation of the main types of negative impacts caused due to different forms of use that induce environmental and social conflicts nearby this shore. Thus, It was carried out a spatial and multitemporal analysis from orthophotos, aerial photographs and others taken during the field work besides satellite images too. The information which is taken out from these instruments was used to draw maps related to land occupation, spatial impacts and other thematic maps. We worked on a hypothesis that the implementation of mega enterprises on Via Costeira and many different forms of intensified use by human actions, has not considered the natural aspects and restrictions of use in this area, these ones would be the main factors that brought on the suppression and degradation in this environment and consequently the transformation of the natural landscape.

Airborne Laser Scanning and the Archaeological Interpretation of Ireland’s First World War Landscape”:The Case Study of Randalstown Training Camp

The training of Irish soldiers for service in the British Army during the First World War required the establishment of training camps across the island, such as at Shane’s Castle Estate, close to Randalstown in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The camp saw active use from 1914 to 1918 but after the war it was demilitarised and returned to use as farmland. Archaeological investigations have revealed that earthwork traces of the camp can still be identified in the modern landscape. Comparison of a map of the camp from 1915, Airborne Laser Scanning data and aerial photographs has enabled the footprint of the camp to be re-established, while also helping to identify the location of specific elements such as the remains of barrack huts, stores, mess halls and officers’ quarters.