To Petra via Jabal Haroun : Nabataean-Roman road remains in the Finnish Jabal Haroun Project survey area

Työ käsittelee Finnish Jabal Haroun Project -tutkimusryhmän Etelä-Jordaniasta inventoimalla keräämää arkeologista aineistoa (vuosilta 1999-2005) tietutkimuksen kannalta. Työn tarkoituksena on selvittää, miksi tutkimusalueella, Aaronin vuoren ympäristössä, sijaitsee tien jäänteitä ja miten tie on maastossa muinoin kulkenut. Lisäksi työ analysoi tien varsilla havaittujen rakennusten jäännösten suhdetta tiehen ja pyrkii ajoittamaan tien käyttöajankohdan (ajankohdat). Työn alkuoletuksena on, että pääosa tienvarsirakennuksista on liitettävissä tiehen ja tien sijoittuminen tutkimusalueelle johtuu pitkälti lähistöllä sijaitsevan Petran noususta merkittäväksi, Nabatealaisten harjoittaman kaupan keskukseksi, Lähi-idässä ajanlaskun alkuun mennessä. Tien jäänteitä tarkastellaan maisema-arkeologisin perustein. Tämä tarkoittaa sitä, että analyysissä korostuvat sekä kulttuuriset että ympäristölliset vaikuttimet. Niiden välistä, aikaan sidottua, suhdetta arvioidaan menneen ihmistoiminnan selittämiseksi. Tutkimusmenetelmät ovat paikkatietojärjestelmien soveltaminen, kohdekohtainen arkeologisen aineiston ja sijainnin tutkiminen, vertailevan aineiston käyttö sekä kolmiulotteinen tarkastelu. Tie ajoitetaan tienvarsikohteiden keramiikkalöytöjen avulla sekä rakenneanalyysin perusteella. Tutkimus osoittaa tien syntyneen alueen sijainnin takia. Sijainti oli edullinen suhteessa luonnonvaroihin, asutuskeskuksiin ja luontaisiin kulkuväyliin. Tien rakentajat osasivat taidokkaasti hyödyntää alueen luonnonpiirteitä ja käyttivät erityisiä menetelmiä vaikeiden tieosuuksien turvaamiseksi luonnonvoimien tuhoilta. Suurin osa tienvarsirakenteista voidaan katsoa johtuvan suoraan tien olemassaolosta, pieni osa rakenteista palveli pääsääntöisesti muita maankäytön muotoja. Petran vaikutus tien olemassaoloon ja muotoon oli suuri, kaupungin kehitys ja kukoistus näkyvät tiehen liitettävässä arkeologisessa aineistossa. Tien aktiivinen käyttö näyttää jatkuneen myös Roomalaisaikaan ensimmäisille vuosisadoille jKr., jonka jälkeen se hitaasti hiipui.

Lithics after Stone Age in East Africa : Wadh Lang'o case study

Tutkielmassa käsitellään kiviesineiden käytön jatkumista kivikauden jälkeen Itä-Afrikassa. Rautakauden alku Itä- ja Etelä-Afrikassa liitetään perinteisesti bantuheimojen migraatioon näille alueille. Tämä vallitseva teoria otettiin tässä tutkimuksessa lähtökohdaksi. Afrikasta tunnetaan runsaasti sekä etnografisia että arkeologisia esimerkkejä kiviteknologian säilymisestä paikoin 1900-luvun loppupuolelle. Nämä liittyvät usein perimätiedon perusteella "kivikautisten" metsästäjä-keräilijöiden ja rautakautisten maanviljelijä- ja karjanhoitajayhteisöjen rinnakkaiseloon. Tutkimuskysymystä lähestytään sekä julkaistun että primääriaineiston kautta. Alussa esitellään kirjallisuudesta löytyviä esimerkkejä myöhäisestä kiviesineiden käytöstä, minkä jälkeen käydään tarkemmin läpi Malawin alueelta julkaistu aiheeseen liitettävissä oleva arkeologinen aineisto. Tätä käytetään vertailuaineistona tutkimuksen pääasiallista tapaustutkimusta käsiteltäessä. Pääasiallisena tapaustutkimuksena toimii Viktoria-järven läheisyydessä sijaitsevan Wadh Lang'o:n asuinpaikan kiviesineistön analyysi. Wadh Lang'o:sta tunnetaan pitkä kulttuurisekvenssi, joka kattaa alueen myöhäiskivikautiset ja rautakautiset kulttuurivaiheet. Stratigrafisen aineiston perusteella kiviesineet ovat säilyneet asuinpaikalla käytössä ainakin keskisen rautakauden alkuun. Varhaisimmassa vaiheessa asuinpaikkaa on asuttanut Oltome-kulttuuriin kuuluva väestö. Suurimmat muutokset materiaalisessa kulttuurissa analyysin kattamana aikana ovat aiheutuneet seuraavan kulttuurivaiheen, Elmenteitan-kulttuurin, myötä. Kiviesineistön perusteella Elmenteitan-keramiikan ilmaantuminen asuinpaikalle on liitettävissä idästäpäin Itä-Afrikan hautavajoaman suunnalta tapahtuneeseen migraatioon. Jatkuvuuden puolesta puhuvat esimerkiksi tehdyt kiviraaka-aine valinnat. Vaikuttaa, että edeltänyt Oltome-keraaminen väestö on säilyttänyt vaikutuksensa asuinpaikalla vielä tänäkin aikana. Varhaisrautakautisen Urewe-keramiikan ilmestymiseen asuinpaikalle ei näyttäisi olevan liitettävissä mitään suurisuuntaista migraatiota, toisin kuin vallalla oleva teoria bantumigraatiosta antaisi olettaa. Mahdollisesti uusi keramiikka on omaksuttu spesialistien, esimerkiksi seppien, muuton myötä tai vaeltavien kauppiaiden vaikutuksesta. Kiviesineistö osoittaa jatkuvuutta esimerkiksi mikroliittien morfologisten piirteiden ja käytettyjen raaka-aineiden perusteella. Mahdollisesti Elmenteitan-kulttuurin karjanhoitoa harjoittanut väestö on kyennyt estämään bantusiirtolaisten muuton alueelleen. Rauta ei vaikuta olleen asuinpaikalla missään vaiheessa erityisen yleistä, eikä paikalta tunneta merkkejä raudanvalmistuksesta. Tutkielman lopussa esitellään kaksi vaihtoehtoista mallia, joiden pohjalta myöhäinen kiviesineiden käyttö voisi selittyä. Niistä ensimmäinen perustuu konventinaaliseen käsitykseen, jossa rautakauden alku nähdään bantumigraation seurauksena. Toinen malli perustuu varhaisrautakautisten kulttuuripiirteiden leviämiseen diffuusion avulla. Wadh Lang'o:n tapaustutkimus näyttäisi puhuvan diffuusion puolesta, mutta toisilla alueilla, esimerkiksi Malawissa, migraatio vaikuttaa olevan todennäköisin selitysmalli. Avainsanat: arkeologia, kiviteknologia, Itä-Afrikka, Oltome, Elmenteitan, Urewe, bantumigraatio, myöhäiskivikausi, rautakausi

Arkeologia, historialliset kartat ja paikkatieto

This licentiate thesis is composed of three parts, of which the parts 2 and 3 have been published elsewhere. Part 1 deals with the research history of large-scaled historical maps in Finland. The research done in four disciplines – archaeology, history, art history and geography – is summarized. Compared to the other disciplines, archaeology is characterized by its deep engagement with the location. Because archaeology studies different aspects of the past through material culture, it is the only discipline in which the concrete remains portrayed on the maps are “dug up”. For the archaeologist, historical maps are not merely historical documents with written information and drawings in scale, but actual maps which can be connected with the physical features they were made to illustrate in the first place. This aspect of historical maps is discussed in the work by looking at the early (17th and 18th century) urban cartographic material of two Finnish towns, Savonlinna and Vehkalahti-Hamina. In both cases, the GIS-based relocating of the historical maps highlights new aspects in the early development of the towns. Part 1 ends with a section in which the contents of the entire licentiate thesis are summarized. Part 2 is a peer reviewed article published in English. This article deals with the role of historical maps converted into GIS in archaeological surveys made in Finnish post-medieval towns (16th and 17th centuries). It is based on the surveys made by the author between 2000 and 2003 and introduces a new method for the archaeological surveying of post-medieval towns with wooden houses. The role of archaeology in the sphere of urban research is discussed. The article emphasizes that the methods used in studying the development of southern European towns with stone houses cannot be adequately applied to the wooden towns of the north. Part 3 is a monograph written in Finnish. It discusses large-scaled historical maps and the methods for producing digital spatial information based on historical maps. Since the late 1990’s, archaeological research in Finland has been increasingly directed towards the historical period. As a result, historical cartography has emerged as one of the central sources of information for the archaeologist, too. The main theme of this work is the need for using historical maps as real maps which, surprisingly, has been uncommon in the historical sciences. Projecting historical maps to the very place they were made to illustrate is essential to understanding the maps. This is self-evident for the archaeologist, who is accustomed to studying the material past, but less so to researchers in other historical disciplines that concentrate on written and visual sources of information. With the help of GIS, the historical maps can be concretely linked to the places they were originally made to illustrate. In doing so, and equipped with a cartographic comprehension, new observations can be made and questions asked, which supplement and occasionally challenge the prevailing views.

Environmental change and human history in the Jabal Harun area, Jordan

The research is related to the Finnish Jabal Harun Project (FJHP), which is part of the research unit directed by Professor Jaakko Frösén. The project consists of two interrelated parts: the excavation of a Byzantine monastery/pilgrimage centre on Jabal Harun, and a multiperiod archaeological survey of the surrounding landscape. It is generally held that the Near Eastern landscape has been modified by millennia of human habitation and activity. Past climatic changes and human activities could be expected to have significantly changed also the landscape of the Jabal Harun area. Therefore it was considered that a study of erosion in the Jabal Harun area could shed light on the environmental and human history of the area. It was hoped that it would be possible to connect the results of the sedimentological studies either to wider climatic changes in the Near East, or to archaeologically observable periods of human activity and land use. As evidence of some archaeological periods is completely missing from the Jabal Harun area, it was also of interest whether catastrophic erosion or unfavourable environmental change, caused either by natural forces or by human agency, could explain the gaps in the archaeological record. Changes in climate and/or land-use were expected to be reflected in the sedimentary record. The field research, carried out as part of the FJHP survey fieldwork, included the mapping of wadi terraces and cleaning of sediment profiles which were recorded and sampled for laboratory analyses of facies and lithology. To obtain a chronology for the sedimentation and erosion phases also OSL (optically stimulated luminescence) dating samples were collected. The results were compared to the record of the Near Eastern palaeoclimate, and to data from geoarchaeological studies in central and southern Jordan. The picture of the environmental development was then compared to the human history in the area, based on archaeological evidence from the FJHP survey and the published archaeological research in the Petra region, and the question of the relationship between human activity and environmental change was critically discussed. Using the palaeoclimatic data and the results from geoarchaeological studies it was possible to outline the environmental development in the Jabal Harun area from the Pleistocene to the present.It is appears that there was a phase of accumulation of sediment before the Middle Palaeolithic period, possibly related to tectonic movement. This phase was later followed by erosion, tentatively suggested to have taken place during the Upper Palaeolithic. A period of wadi aggradation probably occurred during the Late Glacial and continued until the end of the Pleistocene, followed by significant channel degradation, attributed to increased rainfall during the Early Holocene. It seems that during the later Holocene channel incision has been dominant in the Jabal Harûn area although there have been also small-scale channel aggradation phases, two of which were OSL-dated to around 4000-3000 BP and 2400-2000 BP. As there is no evidence of tectonic movements in the Jabal Harun area after the early Pleistocene, it is suggested that climate change and human activity have been the major causes of environmental change in the area. At a brief glance it seems that many of the changes in the settlement and land use in the Jabal Harun area can be explained by climatic and environmental conditions. However, the responses of human societies to environmental change are dependent on many factors. Therefore an evaluation of the significance of environmental, cultural, socio-economic and political factors is needed to decide whether certain phenomena are environmentally induced. Comparison with the wider Petra region is also needed to judge whether the phenomena are characteristic of the Jabal Harun area only, or can they be connected to social, political and economic development over a wider area.

Mapping and characterisation of the inter-reefal benthic assemblages of the Torres Strait

A comprehensive survey of the benthic assemblages of the Torres Strait was conducted in order to provide critical baseline information for regional marine planning, assessing the environmental sustainability of fisheries and understanding the ecosystems of the region. Over 150 sites throughout the region were sampled with a modified prawn trawl, towed underwater video, pipe dredge and epibenthic sled. This manuscript provides a broad overview of the activities undertaken and data collected. Two thousand three hundred and seventy-two different nominal species were sampled by the trawl and sled, only 728 by both gears. The towed video was not able to provide the same level of taxonomic resolution of epibenthic taxa, but was particularly useful in areas where the seabed was too rough to be sampled. Data from the trawl, sled and video were combined to characterise the epibenthic assemblages of the region. Data from the towed video was also used to provide a characterisation of the inter-reefal benthic habitats, which was then analysed in combination with physical covariate data to examine relationships between the two. Levels of mud and gravel in the sediments, trawling effort and seabed current stress were the covariates most significantly correlated with the nature of the seabed habitats.

A novel approach to 6-DOF adaptive trajectory tracking control of an AUV in the presence of parameter uncertainties

In this paper, the trajectory tracking control of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUVs) in six-degrees-of-freedom (6-DOFs) is addressed. It is assumed that the system parameters are unknown and the vehicle is underactuated. An adaptive controller is proposed, based on Lyapunov׳s direct method and the back-stepping technique, which interestingly guarantees robustness against parameter uncertainties. The desired trajectory can be any sufficiently smooth bounded curve parameterized by time even if consist of straight line. In contrast with the majority of research in this field, the likelihood of actuators׳ saturation is considered and another adaptive controller is designed to overcome this problem, in which control signals are bounded using saturation functions. The nonlinear adaptive control scheme yields asymptotic convergence of the vehicle to the reference trajectory, in the presence of parametric uncertainties. The stability of the presented control laws is proved in the sense of Lyapunov theory and Barbalat׳s lemma. Efficiency of presented controller using saturation functions is verified through comparing numerical simulations of both controllers.

Structuring of Indo-Pacific fish assemblages along the mangrove-seagrass continuum

Indo-Pacific mangrove swamps and seagrass beds are commonly located in close proximity to each other, often creating complex ecosystems linked by biological and physical processes. Although they are thought to provide important nursery habitats for fish, only limited information exists about their usage by fish outside of estuaries. The present study investigated fish assemblages in non-estuarine intertidal habitats where mangroves and seagrass overlap (the mangrove-seagrass continuum). Three habitats (mangrove, mangrove edge, seagrass) were sampled at 4 sites of the Wakatobi Marine National Park, Indonesia, using underwater visual census. Ninety-one species of fish were observed at a mean density of 130.1 +/- 37.2 ind. 1000 m(-2). Predatory fish (fish that feed on invertebrates and/or fish) were the most dominant feeding groups in the mangroves, whilst omnivores dominated on the mangrove edge and in the seagrass. Although the habitats along the mangrove-seagrass continuum were observed to be important for many fish, only 22 of the 942 coral reef species known within the area utilised mangroves as nursery habitat and only 15 utilised seagrass. Despite finding evidence that nursery grounds in mangroves and seagrass may not directly support high coral reef fish diversity, many of the coral reef nursery species found in this study are likely to be key herbivores or apex predators as adult fish on local coral reefs, and thus highly important to local fisheries. Although mangroves are not permanently inundated by the tide, this study highlights their importance as fish habitats, which at high tide support a greater abundance of fish than seagrass beds. In the light of the high rate of destruction of these habitats, their role in supporting fish assemblages requires consideration in marine resource management programs.

Seabed Biodiversity on the Continental Shelf of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

The Great Barrier Reef is a unique World Heritage Area of national and international significance. As a multiple use Marine Park, activities such as fishing and tourism occur along with conservation goals. Managers need information on habitats and biodiversity distribution and risks to ensure these activities are conducted sustainably. However, while the coral reefs have been relatively well studied, less was known about the deeper seabed in the region. From 2003 to 2006, the GBR Seabed Biodiversity Project has mapped habitats and their associated biodiversity across the length and breadth of the Marine Park to provide information that will help managers with conservation planning and to assess whether fisheries are ecologically sustainable, as required by environmental protection legislation (e.g. EPBC Act 1999). Holistic information on the biodiversity of the seabed was acquired by visiting almost 1,500 sites, representing a full range of known environments, during 10 month-long voyages on two vessels and deploying several types of devices such as: towed video and digital cameras, baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS), a digital echo-sounder, an epibenthic sled and a research trawl to collect samples for more detailed data about plants, invertebrates and fishes on the seabed. Data were collected and processed from >600 km of towed video and almost 100,000 photos, 1150 BRUVS videos, ~140 GB of digital echograms, and from sorting and identification of ~14,000 benthic samples, ~4,000 seabed fish samples, and ~1,200 sediment samples.

Stock assessment of the Queensland east coast common coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus) fishery

Common coral trout Plectropomus leopardus is an iconic fish of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and is the most important fish for the commercial fishery there. Most of the catch is exported live to Asia. This stock assessment was undertaken in response to falls in catch sizes and catch rates in recent years, in order to gauge the status of the stock. It is the first stock assessment ever conducted of coral trout on the GBR, and brings together a multitude of different data sources for the first time. The GBR is very large and was divided into a regional structure based on the Bioregions defined by expert committees appointed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) as part of the 2004 rezoning of the GBR. The regional structure consists of six Regions, from the Far Northern Region in the north to the Swains and Capricorn–Bunker Regions in the south. Regions also closely follow the boundaries between Bioregions. Two of the northern Regions are split into Subregions on the basis of potential changes in fishing intensity between the Subregions; there are nine Subregions altogether, which include four Regions that are not split. Bioregions are split into Subbioregions along the Subregion boundaries. Finally, each Subbioregion is split into a “blue” population which is open to fishing and a “green” population which is closed to fishing. The fishery is unusual in that catch rates as an indicator of abundance of coral trout are heavily influenced by tropical cyclones. After a major cyclone, catch rates fall for two to three years, and rebound after that. This effect is well correlated with the times of occurrence of cyclones, and usually occurs in the same month that the cyclone strikes. However, statistical analyses correlating catch rates with cyclone wind energy did not provide significantly different catch rate trends. Alternative indicators of cyclone strength may explain more of the catch rate decline, and future work should investigate this. Another feature of catch rates is the phenomenon of social learning in coral trout populations, whereby when a population of coral trout is fished, individuals quickly learn not to take bait. Then the catch rate falls sharply even when the population size is still high. The social learning may take place by fish directly observing their fellows being hooked, or perhaps heeding a chemo-sensory cue emitted by fish that are hooked. As part of the assessment, analysis of data from replenishment closures of Boult Reef in the Capricorn–Bunker Region (closed 1983–86) and Bramble Reef in the Townsville Subregion (closed 1992–95) estimated a strong social learning effect. A major data source for the stock assessment was the large collection of underwater visual survey (UVS) data collected by divers who counted the coral trout that they sighted. This allowed estimation of the density of coral trout in the different Bioregions (expressed as a number of fish per hectare). Combined with mapping data of all the 3000 or so reefs making up the GBR, the UVS results provided direct estimates of the population size in each Subbioregion. A regional population dynamic model was developed to account for the intricacies of coral trout population dynamics and catch rates. Because the statistical analysis of catch rates did not attribute much of the decline to tropical cyclones, (and thereby implied “real” declines in biomass), and because in contrast the UVS data indicate relatively stable population sizes, model outputs were unduly influenced by the unlikely hypothesis that falling catch rates are real. The alternative hypothesis that UVS data are closer to the mark and declining catch rates are an artefact of spurious (e.g., cyclone impact) effects is much more probable. Judging by the population size estimates provided by the UVS data, there is no biological problem with the status of coral trout stocks. The estimate of the total number of Plectropomus leopardus on blue zones on the GBR in the mid-1980s (the time of the major UVS series) was 5.34 million legal-sized fish, or about 8400 t exploitable biomass, with an 2 additional 3350 t in green zones (using the current zoning which was introduced on 1 July 2004). For the offshore regions favoured by commercial fishers, the figure was about 4.90 million legal-sized fish in blue zones, or about 7700 t exploitable biomass. There is, however, an economic problem, as indicated by relatively low catch rates and anecdotal information provided by commercial fishers. The costs of fishing the GBR by hook and line (the only method compatible with the GBR’s high conservation status) are high, and commercial fishers are unable to operate profitably when catch rates are depressed (e.g., from a tropical cyclone). The economic problem is compounded by the effect of social learning in coral trout, whereby catch rates fall rapidly if fishers keep returning to the same fishing locations. In response, commercial fishers tend to spread out over the GBR, including the Far Northern and Swains Regions which are far from port and incur higher travel costs. The economic problem provides some logic to a reduction in the TACC. Such a reduction during good times, such as when the fishery is rebounding after a major tropical cyclone, could provide a net benefit to the fishery, as it would provide a margin of stock safety and make the fishery more economically robust by providing higher catch rates during subsequent periods of depressed catches. During hard times when catch rates are low (e.g., shortly after a major tropical cyclone), a change to the TACC would have little effect as even a reduced TACC would not come close to being filled. Quota adjustments based on catch rates should take account of long-term trends in order to mitigate variability and cyclone effects in data.

The effects of eutrophication on alternative reproductive tactics in threespine sticklebacks

When organisms compete for mates and fertilisations, the process of sexual selection drives the evolution of traits that increase reproductive success. The traits targeted by selection, and the extent to which they change, are constrained by the local environment. Sexual selection due to female mate choice can be undermined by alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs), which refers to discontinuous variation in traits or behaviours used in reproduction. As human activities are rapidly changing our planet, this raises the question how ARTs will be affected. Fish show a bewildering diversity of ARTs, which make them good model organisms to answer these questions. One example of human-induced environmental change, which is affecting aquatic ecosystems around the world, is eutrophication, the over-enrichment of water bodies with nutrients. One of its effects is decreased underwater visibility due to increases in both turbidity and vegetation density. The aims of this thesis were to investigate the effects increased turbidity and vegetation density have on an ART in sticklebacks, a fish common to marine and fresh water bodies of the Northern hemisphere. I furthermore investigated how this affected sexual selection for male size, a trait commonly under selection. I used a combination of behavioural observations in microcosms, where I manipulated underwater visibility, with collection of genetic material to reconstruct parentage of broods, and thus identify sneak fertilisations. The results show that turbidity might have weak negative effects on the frequency of sneaking behaviour, although this behaviour was rather infrequent in these experiments, which complicates firm conclusions. In dense vegetation the number of sneak fertilisations decreased slightly, as fewer nesting males sneaked, while the number of non-nesting males sneaking remained constant. The paternity analyses revealed that a significantly smaller fraction of eggs was sneak fertilised under dense vegetation. Furthermore, amongst the nesting males that sneaked, the amount of eggs sneak fertilised correlated positively with courtship success. A reduction in sneaking by these males under dense vegetation equalised the distribution of fertilisation success, in turn contributing to a decrease in the opportunity for selection. Under dense vegetation significantly more males built nests, which has also been observed in previous field studies. In a separate experiment we addressed if such changes in the proportion of nesters and non-nesters, without changes in visibility, affected the incidence of sneak fertilisation. My results show this was not the case, likely because sneaking is an opportunistic tactic shown by both nesters and non-nesters. Non-nesters did sneak proportionately more when there were many of them, which could be due to changes in the cost-benefit ratio of sneaking. As nesters can only attack one intruder at a time, the costs and risks per sneaker will decrease as the number of sneakers increases. The defensive behaviours shown by the nesters before spawning shifted to a more aggressive form of nest defence. This could be because less aggressive behaviours lose their effectiveness when the number of intruders increases. It could also indicate that the risks associated with aggressive behaviours decrease when there are fewer fellow nesters, as other studies indicate nesters are competitive and aggressive individuals. Under turbid conditions I did not detect changes in the opportunity for selection, based on fertilisation success, nor was male size under significant selection under clear or turbid conditions. More thorough analyses under densely vegetated conditions across the nesting, courtship and fertilisation stages revealed a decrease in the opportunity for selection across all stages. A reduction in sneaking by nesters contributed to this. During the nesting stage, but not during later stages, body size was under significant directional selection under sparse, but not dense vegetation. This illustrates the importance of considering all selection stages to get a complete picture of how environmental changes affect sexual selection. Leaving out certain stages or subgroups can result in incomplete or misleading results.

Photobiological studies of Baltic Sea phytoplankton

Phytoplankton ecology and productivity is one of the main branches of contemporary oceanographic research. Research groups in this branch have increasingly started to utilise bio-optical applications. My main research objective was to critically investigate the advantages and deficiencies of the fast repetition rate (FRR) fluorometry for studies of productivity of phytoplankton, and the responses of phytoplankton towards varying environmental stress. Second, I aimed to clarify the applicability of the FRR system to the optical environment of the Baltic Sea. The FRR system offers a highly dynamic tool for studies of phytoplankton photophysiology and productivity both in the field and in a controlled environment. The FRR metrics obtain high-frequency in situ determinations of the light-acclimative and photosynthetic parameters of intact phytoplankton communities. The measurement protocol is relatively easy to use without phases requiring analytical determinations. The most notable application of the FRR system lies in its potential for making primary productivity (PP) estimations. However, the realisation of this scheme is not straightforward. The FRR-PP, based on the photosynthetic electron flow (PEF) rate, are linearly related to the photosynthetic gas exchange (fixation of 14C) PP only in environments where the photosynthesis is light-limited. If the light limitation is not present, as is usually the case in the near-surface layers of the water column, the two PP approaches will deviate. The prompt response of the PEF rate to the short-term variability in the natural light field makes the field comparisons between the PEF-PP and the 14C-PP difficult to interpret, because this variability is averaged out in the 14C-incubations. Furthermore, the FRR based PP models are tuned to closely follow the vertical pattern of the underwater irradiance. Due to the photoacclimational plasticity of phytoplankton, this easily leads to overestimates of water column PP, if precautionary measures are not taken. Natural phytoplankton is subject to broad-waveband light. Active non-spectral bio-optical instruments, like the FRR fluorometer, emit light in a relatively narrow waveband, which by its nature does not represent the in situ light field. Thus, the spectrally-dependent parameters provided by the FRR system need to be spectrally scaled to the natural light field of the Baltic Sea. In general, the requirement of spectral scaling in the water bodies under terrestrial impact concerns all light-adaptive parameters provided by any active non-spectral bio-optical technique. The FRR system can be adopted to studies of all phytoplankton that possess efficient light harvesting in the waveband matching the bluish FRR excitation. Although these taxa cover the large bulk of all the phytoplankton taxa, one exception with a pronounced ecological significance is found in the Baltic Sea. The FRR system cannot be used to monitor the photophysiology of the cyanobacterial taxa harvesting light in the yellow-red waveband. These taxa include the ecologically-significant bloom-forming cyanobacterial taxa in the Baltic Sea.

A shallow water AUV for benthic and water column observations

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are becoming commonplace in the study of inshore coastal marine habitats. Combined with shipboard systems, scientists are able to make in-situ measurements of water column and benthic properties. In CSIRO, autonomous gliders are used to collect water column data, while surface vessels are used to collect bathymetry information through the use of swath mapping, bottom grabs, and towed video systems. Although these methods have provided good data coverage for coastal and deep waters beyond 50m, there has been an increasing need for autonomous in-situ sampling in waters less than 50m deep. In addition, the collection of benthic and water column data has been conducted separately, requiring extensive post-processing to combine data streams. As such, a new AUV was developed for in-situ observations of both benthic habitat and water column properties in shallow waters. This paper provides an overview of the Starbug X AUV system, its operational characteristics including vision-based navigation and oceanographic sensor integration.

Through the Colour Lens

Colour is used to adorn and decorate and many have tried to find an organisational system that could concretely states how colour is to be used correctly. In this book Marisha McAuliffe examines the concept of colour and its uses for those who design professionally or those who simply want to appreciate the complexities of colour. It examines light and contrast, and explains the pitfalls that are to be avoided in colour design. The book explores different concepts relating to, and including, colour history, systems and theories, requirements for a colour-based design project, research, and generation of colour schemes so as to create optimal experiences for colour in architecture, interior architecture and design. To fully understand colour, the book ventures into its scientific and ‘non-scientific’ elements compiling key points about its many characteristics. Taken together, this book is a compressive guide for those who seek to work with colour and to tap its enormous potentials for design effect.

Vaikuttavuusyhteiskunta : Sosiaalisten olojen arvostelusta vaikutusten todentamiseen

Evaluation practices have pervaded the Finnish society and welfare state. At the same time the term effectiveness has become a powerful organising concept in welfare state activities. The aim of the study is to analyse how the outcome-oriented society came into being through historical processes, to answer the question of how social policy and welfare state practices were brought under the governance of the concept of effectiveness . Discussions about social imagination, Michel Foucault s conceptions of the history of the present and of governmentality, genealogy and archaeology, along with Ian Hacking s notions of dynamic nominalism and styles of reasoning, are used as the conceptual and methodological starting points for the study. In addition, Luc Boltanski s and Laurent Thévenot s ideas of orders of worth , regimes of evaluation in everyday life, are employed. Usually, evaluation is conceptualised as an autonomous epistemic culture and practice (evaluation as epistemic practice), but evaluation is here understood as knowledge-creation processes elementary to different epistemic practices (evaluation in epistemic practices). The emergence of epistemic cultures and styles of reasoning about the effectiveness or impacts of welfare state activities are analysed through Finnish social policy and social work research. The study uses case studies which represent debates and empirical research dealing with the effectiveness and quality of social services and social work. While uncertainty and doubts over the effects and consequences of welfare policies have always been present in discourses about social policy, the theme has not been acknowledged much in social policy research. To resolve these uncertainties, eight styles of reasoning about such effects have emerged over time. These are the statistical, goal-based, needs-based, experimental, interaction-based, performance measurement, auditing and evidence-based styles of reasoning. Social policy research has contributed in various ways to the creation of these epistemic practices. The transformation of the welfare state, starting at the end of 1980s, increased market-orientation and trimmed public welfare responsibilities, and led to the adoption of the New Public Management (NPM) style of leadership. Due to these developments the concept of effectiveness made a breakthrough, and new accountabilities with their knowledge tools for performance measurement and auditing and evidence-based styles of reasoning became more dominant in the ruling of the welfare state. Social sciences and evaluation have developed a heteronomous relation with each other, although there still remain divergent tendencies between them. Key words: evaluation, effectiveness, social policy, welfare state, public services, sociology of knowledge

The Philosophical Age. Almanac. Issue 36. The Northern Lights

keywords: Enlightenment, Northern countries, Finland, Russia, Scotland In the 36 th edition of the almanac "Philosophical Age" published materials of international symposium «The Northern Lights - Facets of Enlightenment Culture», (held September 25-26, 2009) in The Aleksanteri Institute the University of Helsinki. Contents: Vesa Oittinen Between Radicalism and Utilitarianism — On the Profile of the Finnish Enlightenment Tatiana Artemyeva The Status of Intellectual Values in the Russian Enlightenment Oili Pulkkinen The Cosmopolitan Experience, Theoretical Histories and the Universal Science of the Scottish Enlightenment Аlla Zlatopolskaya L’autocritique des Lumières chez Rousseau et le rousseauisme russe Johannes Remy Alexander Radishchev, Ethical Consuming, and North American Quakers Kimmo Sarje Anders Chydenius and Radical Swedish Enlightenment Johan Sten Anders Johan Lexell: A Finnish Astronomer at St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences and His European Contacts Mikhail Mikeshin A Russian Adam Smith in French Style: An Example of the Transfer of Ideas Larisa Agamalian The Library of an Enlightened Russian Landowner