What gets plans off the shelf? : a multi-site case study of the factors influencing municipal recreation plan implementation

Municipalities that engage in recreation planning have the potential to use their resources more effectively. However, successful planning means getting the plan off the shelf and implemented. This study investigated the factors that influenced municipal recreation plan implementation in three municipalities. Interviews were conducted with eleven key informants (recreation directors, planning consultants, a city councillor, and members of plan steering committees). The findings of this study suggested that because the implementation of recreation plans occurs in a highly political environment, recreation professionals will need effective strategies to get their plans implemented and that implementation can be facilitated by developing or expanding strategies that: (l) build the power of the recreation department within the municipal government structure; (2) build support for recreation within the local community; and (3) build the political and organizational capacity in the recreation department.

Vehicle-driver communication using off-the-shelf transceivers

Almost all modern cars can be controlled remotely using a personal communicator (keyfob). However, the degree of interaction between currently available personal communicators and cars is very limited. The communication link is unidirectional and the communication range is limited to a few dozen meters. However, there are many interesting applications that could be supported if a keyfob would be able to support energy efficient bidirectional longer range communication. In this paper we investigate off-the-shelf transceivers in terms of their usability for bidirectional longer range communication. Our evaluation results show that existing transceivers can generally support the required communication ranges but that links tend to be very unreliable. This high unreliability must be handled in an energy efficient way by the keyfob to car communication protocol in order to make off-the-shelf transceivers a viable solution.

The Ventana Optical Train: a high-performance off-the-shelf HCPV optics solution

- PV and HCPV compete in the utility market - PV cost reduction has been dramatic through volume - A complete off-the-shelf optics solution by Evonik and LPI - Based on the best-in-class design: The FK concentrator

On the acquisition of high-resolution maps with open source software and commercials off-the-shelf quad-rotors

Mosaics are high-resolution images obtained aerially and employed in several scientific research areas, such for example, in the field of environmental monitoring and precision agriculture. Although many high resolution maps are obtained by commercial demand, they can also be acquired with commercial aerial vehicles which provide more experimental autonomy and availability. For what regard to mosaicing-based aerial mission planners, there are not so many - if any - free of charge software. Therefore, in this paper is presented a framework designed with open source tools and libraries as an alternative to commercial tools to carry out mosaicing tasks.

The effects of river discharge and seasonal winds on the shelf off southeastern South America

The Rio de la Plata waters form a low salinity tongue that affects the circulation, stratification and the distributions of nutrients and biological species over a wide extent of the adjacent continental shelf. The plume of coastal waters presents a seasonal meridional displacement reaching lower latitudes (28,S) during austral winter and 32 degrees S during summer. Historical data suggests that the wind causes the alongshore shift, with southwesterly (SW) winds forcing the plume to lower latitudes in winter while summer dominant northeasterly (NE) winds force its southward retreat. To establish the connection between wind and outflow variations on the distribution of the coastal waters, we conducted two quasi-synoptic surveys in the region of Plata influence on the continental shelf and slope of southeastern South America, between Mar del Plata, Argentina and the northern coast of Santa Catarina, Brazil. We observed that: (A) SW winds dominating in winter force the northward spreading of the plume to low latitudes even during low river discharge periods; (B) NE winds displace the plume southward and spread the low salinity waters offshore over the entire width of the continental shelf east of the Plata estuary. The southward retreat of the plume in summer leads to a volume decrease of low salinity waters over the shelf. This volume is compensated by an increase of Tropical waters, which dominate the northern shelf. The subsurface transition between Subantarctic and Subtropical Shelf Waters, the Subtropical Shelf Front, and the subsurface water mass distribution, however, present minor seasonal variations. Along shore winds also influence the dynamics and water mass variations along the continental shelf area. In areas under the influence of river discharge, Subtropical Shelf Waters are kept away from the coastal region. When low salinity waters retreat southward, NE winds induce a coastal upwelling system near Santa Marta Cape. In summer, solar radiation promotes the establishment of a strong thermocline that increases buoyancy and further enhances the offshore displacement of low salinity waters under the action of NE winds. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Natural radionuclides distribution in the shelf and upper slope off southeast Brazil

In recent decades, Oceanography has been using a variety of radionuclides as tracers to understand the ocean dynamic processes, handling and disposal of sediments of seabed. In this context, the determination of natural radionuclides distributions (238U, 232Th and 40K) has been carried out with sediments samples from the shelf and upper slope off Southeast Brazil using a gamma spectrometry technique. The samples were sliced into strata of 2 cm, dried, ground and properly packed to be analysed. The concentration of activities was performed in a hyperpure Ge detector with a resolution of 1,9 keV for the peak of 1332,3 keV of 60Co, model GEM50P by EGG&ORTEC. The study area is located between latitudes 28°40'S and 23°00'S and extends from Cabo Frio (RJ) to Cabo de Santa Marta Grande (SC). The activity concentrations varied from 0,6 to 52,8 BqKg-1 for 238U, from 1,6 to 50,9BqKg-1 for 232Th and from 65,4 to 873,3 BqKg-1 for 40K. From these results it is possible to establish a correlation between the depositional area dynamics and the samples size parameters

Element contents, sulfur and oxygen isotopes, and molecular biomarkers of phosphatic crust samples from the Chimbote Platform of the shelf off Peru

Authigenic phosphatic laminites enclosed in phosphorite crusts from the shelf off Peru (10°01' S and 10°24' S) consist of carbonate fluorapatite layers, which contain abundant sulfide minerals including pyrite (FeS2) and sphalerite (ZnS). Low d34Spyrite values (average -28.8 per mill) agree with bacterial sulfate reduction and subsequent pyrite formation. Stable sulfur isotopic compositions of sulfate bound in carbonate fluorapatite are lower than that of sulfate from ambient sea water, suggesting bacterial reoxidation of sulfide by sulfide-oxidizing bacteria. The release of phosphorus and subsequent formation of the autochthonous phosphatic laminites are apparently caused by the activity of sulfate-reducing bacteria and associated sulfide-oxidizing bacteria. Following an extraction-phosphorite dissolution-extraction procedure, molecular fossils of sulfate-reducing bacteria (mono-O-alkyl glycerol ethers, di-O-alkyl glycerol ethers, as well as the short-chain branched fatty acids i/ai-C15:0, i/ai-C17:0 and 10MeC16:0) are found to be among the most abundant compounds. The fact that these molecular fossils of sulfate-reducing bacteria are distinctly more abundant after dissolution of the phosphatic laminite reveals that the lipids are tightly bound to the mineral lattice of carbonate fluorapatite. Moreover, compared with the autochthonous laminite, molecular fossils of sulfate-reducing bacteria are: (1) significantly less abundant and (2) not as tightly bound to the mineral lattice in the other, allochthonous facies of the Peruvian crusts consisting of phosphatic coated grains. These observations confirm the importance of sulfate-reducing bacteria in the formation of the phosphatic laminite. Model calculations highlight that organic matter degradation by sulfate-reducing bacteria has the potential to liberate sufficient phosphorus for phosphogenesis.

Geochemistry of phosphatic crusts from the shelf off Peru

Authigenic phosphorite crusts from the shelf off Peru (9°40°S to 13°30°S) consist of a facies with phosphatic coated grains covered by younger phosphatic laminite. The crusts are composed of carbonate fluorapatite, which probably formed via an amorphous precursor close to the sediment water interface as indicated by low F/P2O5 ratios, Sr and Ca isotopes, as well as rare earth element patterns agreeing with seawater-dominated fluids. Small negative Ce anomalies and U enrichment in the laminite suggest suboxic conditions close to the sediment-water interface during its formation. Increased contents of chalcophilic elements and abundant sulfide minerals in the facies with phosphatic coated grains as well as in the laminite denote sulfate reduction and, consequently, point to episodical development of anoxic conditions during phosphogenesis. The Peruvian phosphorites formed episodically over an extended period of time lasting from Middle Miocene to Pleistocene. Individual phosphatic coated grains show a succession of phosphatic layers with varying contents of organic matter and sulfide-rich phosphatic layers. Coated grains supposedly formed as a result of episodic suspension caused by high turbulence and shifting redox conditions. Episodic anoxia in the pore water induced pyritization in the outermost carbonate fluorapatite layer. Phosphatic coated grains were later transported to the place of crust formation, where subsequent laminite formation was favored under lower energy conditions. A similar succession of phosphatic layers with varying contents of organic matter and sulfide-rich layers in the laminite suggests a formation mechanism analogous to that of individual coated grains.

Composition of recent carbonate bottom sediments from the Guiana shelf an off the West Africa

This work was based on a study of the upper layer of recent carbonate bottom sediments of the Atlantic Ocean. Biogenic carbonate of recent sediments is represented by metastable and stable minerals. In the ocean metastable phases can exist indefinitely long, but the structure of polymorphism determines inevitability of transformation of metastable phases into stable ones. This transformation occurs in the solid phase. In the absence of a critical point between the two phases of the transition process is not available for study by microscopic methods. It is estimated indirectly by studying the nature and extent of changes in mineral and chemical compositions. With aging of sediments their mineral composition alters in direction of increasing contents of resistant minerals. Fine grained sediments and fractions are subject to more intensive effects of early diagenesis processes, rather than coarse ones; this is reflected in their mineral composition. Regularities of distribution of carbonate minerals in size fractions consistent with the direction of polymorphic transformations in calcium carbonate. Such transformations can occur in a particular dimension of grains. Concrete grain size depends on environmental conditions. This situation explains presence of metastable biogenic carbonates at different depths of the ocean and suggests presence of diagenetic calcite in sediments occurring below expected for each case depth of the transition.

In-situ geotechnical measurements with the dynamic penetrometer Nimrod on the continental shelf off the Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand

We tested the ability of a small dynamic penetrometer, Nimrod, to infer geotechnical properties of sediment mixtures in the inner shelf. The penetrometer is light and easy to operate, and its operation by scuba divers ensures a greater degree of precision than ship-based penetrometer deployments. We have studied selected positions along a sorted bedform (~ 100 m wide) on the continental shelf off the Coromandel Peninsula close to Tairua, North Island of New Zealand, and additionally took sediment samples at the exact positions of penetrometer impact, also by scuba divers. The derived dynamic penetrometer signatures (i) measured deceleration of the probe and estimated quasi-static bearing capacity as a measure of sediment strength, (ii) reflected changes in grain-size distribution ranging from very fine to very coarse sands, and (iii) revealed the uppermost seafloor stratification (top layer 2-6 cm) potentially being an indicator for sediment dynamics. In this manner, the device proved to be suitable for spatially fine-scaled surveys using divers' support and might deliver complementary information about sediment dynamics, in this case sorted-bedform maintenance.

Age determination of sediment cores from the Shelf Edge off Mauritania, Northwest Africa

The impact of late glacial changes on the sedimentary record was investigated in two long vibracores, collected from the shelf edge off Mauritania, northwest Africa. Lithology and radiocarbon dates indicate that the sedimentary sequences were mainly controlled by sea-level changes on the shelf. The upper Pleistocene sequence is characterized by deposition in coastal environments, while the Holocene sequence represents deposition in shelf environments. During low sea level, much sediment was supplied to the present outer shelf, and the data imply an average accumulation rate of up to 43.0 cm/1000 yrs during the late Pleistocene, which is substantially higher than the Holocene rate. Shelf sediments were continuously reworked and redistributed on a regional scale during falling and rising sea level. The presence of reworked material results in radiocarbon ages which are too old. The mollusc. Venus striatula, which presently is found north of, but not along, the Mauritanian coast, occurs in the upper Pleistocene sequence, suggesting cooler water conditions in the shelf during late glacial times. This species probably migrated to the south during late glacial times, following the southward extension of the cold Canary Current. Radiocarbon dates of the shells broadly coincide with a lowstand of sea level over this part of the continental shelf.