Plateau

In this study, living cultures in terms of ethno-archaeological in order to understand and interpret in the 2nd millennium BC in East Anatolia, formation process, which is consist of today’s transhumance activities and in plateau architecture, has been examined.
In the 2nd millennium BC, because of nomadic lifestyle In East Anatolia region, this period appears to be archaeological problem in terms of formation process. Therefore, in East Anatolia, for better understand lifestyle and traditions of communities who lived in the 2nd millennium BC, plateau culture and plateau architecture which ongoing at present, has been examined. We believe that same subsistence economy continue in same geography. Especially, In the 2nd millennium BC in region, in order to formation process which is consist of in terms of architecture, formation-transformation process which is consist of today’s at plateaus that’s are completely abandoned in different periods, has been examined and evaluated from a different stand point.

In the Pacific Northwest of North America, researchers routinely suggest changes in human use of animals explain hunter-gatherer organizational changes and development of cultural complexity. For example, most models developed to explain developing cultural complexity invoke salmon in some fashion. Yet until recently, fish remains were not carefully studied and more generally, zooarchaeological evidence has not been systematically used to test models of culture change. This study reviews the 10,000-year-old faunal record in the Pacific Northwest to test predictions drawn from models of resource intensification, resource depression and hunter-gatherer organizational strategies. The records from two subareas, the South-Central Northwest Coast (Puget Sound/Gulf of Georgia) and the Northern Columbia Plateau, are examined in detail, representing 63 archaeological sites. While minor changes in animal use are evident, the overall record is characterized by stability rather than change.

The Soil Conservation Service curve number (CN) method is widely used for predicting direct runoff from rainfall. However, despite the extent of cultivation on hillslope areas, very few attempts have been made to incorporate a slope factor into the CN method. The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate existing approaches integrating slope in the CN method, and (2) to develop an equation incorporating a slope factor into the CN method for application in the steep slope areas of the Loess Plateau of China. The dataset consisted of 11 years of rainfall and runoff measurements from two experimental sites with slopes ranging from 14 to 140%. The results indicated that the standard CN method underestimated large runoff events and overestimated small events. For our experimental conditions, the optimized and non-optimized forms of the slope-modified CN method of the Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator model improved runoff prediction for steep slopes, but large runoff events were still underestimated and small ones overpredicted. Based on relationships between slope and the observed and theoretical CN values, an equation was developed that better predicted runoff depths with an R2 of 0.822 and a linear regression slope of 0.807. This slope-adjusted CN equation appears to be the most appropriate for runoff prediction in the steep areas of the Loess Plateau of China.

Hydrological cycles are reciprocal, often simplified and indicated as fragile. This long period multidisciplinary study brings to the fore that the over-arching hydrological cycles of the Shillong and Sikkim plateaus are common, robust yet very atypical. They have an intimate relationship with regional geography, local geomorphology & its underlying geology. Flora has an important role. The cycle causes genesis of the meridonial trough with the Bay of Bengal which in turn assists the typical cloud columns (Meghalaya aspect) assisted by evapo-transpiration from all around as semi-independent yet interrelated embedded member cycles i.e. very complex. Entropy and enthalpy and other aspects of the related governing laws of physics have been proposed and discussed. Atmospheric moisture flows all around the Shillong plateau. Sikkim emerges as the rain abode (Barsalaya) and best for beverage industry. Either are overhead tanks. Why and how Shillong plateau down-regulates earth quake wave propagation has also been discussed. Deforestation & mining will irreversibly alter such hydrological cycle. On pan-global basis this is an original study that uncovers numerous aspects hitherto unknown. This study is also relevant for Myanmar & Bangladesh.

This paper outlines the environmental history of the Tigrean Plateau (northern Ethiopia) during the Holocene, based on the available geomorphological, palynological, archaeological, and historical evidence. At present, it seems that (1) the plateau experienced a more humid climate with a denser vegetation cover during the Early Holocene; (2) Soil erosion due to clearing vegetation began in the Middle Holocene; (3) agricultural activity was intensified in the Late Holocene, as a consequence of the rise of a state; (4) demographic pressure increased from the early first millennium BC to the mid–first millennium AD, causing soil erosion; (5) environmental degradation and demographic decline occurred in the late first millennium AD; (6) the vegetation cover was regenerated in the early second millennium AD; and (7) progressive vegetation clearance started again in the second half of the second millennium AD. Cet article trace l'histoire ambiante du Plateau Tigréen dans l'Holocène en utilisant les données géomorphologiques, palynologiques, archéologiques et historiques. Il semble que (1) dans l'Holocène ancien le plateau était caractérisé par une phase humide avec une dense végétation; (2) l'érosion causée par l'abbattage de la végétation commen¸a dans l'Holocène moyen; (3) l'activité agricole s'inténsifia à la fin de l'Holocène, par conséquence de l'essor d'un état; (4) la pression démographique augmenta de plus en plus du début du premier millénaire av. J.-Ch. à la moitié du premier millénaire ap. J.-Ch.; (5) la dégradation ambiante et la diminution démographique se vérifièrent à la fin du premier millénaire ap. J.-Ch.; (6) une régéneration de la vegetation se vérifia au début du seconde millénaire ap. J.-Ch.; et (7) l'abbatage de la végétation recommen¸a dans la seconde moitié du seconde millénaire ap. J.-Ch.

Fishes were collected from seamounts and insular slopes of the northern Tasman and southern Coral Seas in the environs of the Reinga Ridge, Norfolk Ridge and Lord Howe Rise, at depths ranging from 49 to 1927 m. A total of 348 demersal fish species in 99 families, which were collected from 135 samples taken with a variety of sampling gear, greatly improved taxonomic knowledge of this poorly known area. Twenty five percent of the fish sampled are considered to be potentially new species. Relatively high levels of regional endemicity and diversity are attributed to geological history, and the complexity of contemporary climatology, hydrography and habitat diversity of the region. Fish assemblages were highly structured by depth, but across regions, deep-water fish faunas showed stronger taxonomic affinities than shallower faunas. Although less pronounced, spatial differences pointed towards distinct faunas between the southern and northern parts of the area. The distribution patterns and affinities to regions adjacent to the survey area indicate that (1) the fish fauna on the Lord Howe Rise near Lord Howe Island and further north is distinct from the rest of the survey regions, and exhibits eastern Australian and northern (Coral Sea) affinities, (2) the Northern Norfolk Ridge fauna is distinct from the other regions and has strong affinities with New Caledonia, (3) fishes on the Southern Norfolk Ridge, Western Norfolk Ridge and Lord Howe Plateau have more shared species compared to the other regions indicating a high level of connectedness and affinities with New Zealand fauna, and (4) some species have a wide distribution along the Norfolk Ridge providing a possible deepwater pathway between New Caledonia and New Zealand. Survey data is also useful for assessing the regions' conservation values by identifying rare or unusual components of the fauna, those with very limited distributions, those with low productivity that may be vulnerable to human disturbance (fishing, mining), and for defining bioregions.

Abstract[1] Crustal structure in Kenya and Ethiopia has been investigated using receiver function analysis of broadband seismic data to determine the extent to which the Cenozoic rifting and magmatism has modified the thickness and composition of the Proterozoic crust in which the East African rift system developed. Data for this study come from broadband seismic experiments conducted in Ethiopia between 2000 and 2002 and in Kenya between 2001 and 2002. Two methods have been used to analyze the receiver functions, the H-κ method, and direct stacks of the waveforms, yielding consistent results. Crustal thickness to the east of the Kenya rift varies between 39 and 42 km, and Poisson's ratios for the crust vary between 0.24 and 0.27. To the west of the Kenya rift, Moho depths vary between 37 and 38 km, and Poisson's ratios vary between 0.24 and 0.27. These findings support previous studies showing that crust away from the Kenya rift has not been modified extensively by Cenozoic rifting and magmatism. Beneath the Ethiopian Plateau on either side of the Main Ethiopian Rift, crustal thickness ranges from 33 to 44 km, and Poisson's ratios vary from 0.23 to 0.28. Within the Main Ethiopian Rift, Moho depths vary from 27 to 38 km, and Poisson's ratios range from 0.27 to 0.35. A crustal thickness of 25 km and a Poisson's ratio of 0.36 were obtained for a single station in the Afar Depression. These results indicate that the crust beneath the Ethiopian Plateau has not been modified significantly by the Cenozoic rifting and magmatism, even though up to a few kilometers of flood basalts have been added, and that the crust beneath the rifted regions in Ethiopia has been thinned in many places and extensively modified by the addition of mafic rock. The latter finding is consistent with models for rift evolution, suggesting that magmatic segments with the Main Ethiopian Rift, characterized by dike intrusion and Quaternary volcanism, act now as the locus of extension rather than the rift border faults.

Ammatoa Kajang is a traditional settlement rich with their local wisdom, the community maintains the rituals, traditions and cultures ever since the settlement established. The local wisdom is reflected in the technology of building and managing the settlement. The location of this research is at Ammatoa Kajang in Bulukumba, province of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The purpose of this research is to get descriptive-ideographic pictures on the spatial pattern of highland settlements of Ammatoa Kajang and the reflection of its local wisdom. The study was conducted with a qualitative-naturalistic approach. The results of the study showed that the spatial pattern of Ammatoa Kajang settlement is spread and grow naturally. The design of settlement spreads due to the tradition of the community in building houses to choose a location close to the rice fields or the agricultural fields, making it easy to reach the area to work as farmers. The Ammatoa Kajang community consistently upholds the guidance from their ancestors to live simple and unpretentious ways, with a philosophy of life to place the universe, human beings and the forests/environments in separable as a one preserve and balance the ecosystem.

It is difficult to relate the IRSL signal from feldspar to a particular region of the TL curve; prior IR stimulation reduces the TL signal over a wide range of temperatures. Such data are apparently consistent with the observation from pulse anneal experiments that a laboratory-induced IRSL signal is detectably eroded by a relatively low temperature preheat. These results can be explained by a distribution of trap depths of IR sensitive traps, and/or by changes in recombination probability induced by IR exposure. To investigate the relative importance of these processes, we first examine the relationship between the loss of blue IRSL and TL signals with preheating, and the effect of prior IRSL on the TL signal. Using IRSL measured at 50 °C and a SAR protocol, we then examine the dependence on preheat temperature of equivalent dose (De), laboratory fading rate (g), and the resulting luminescence age, from three sedimentary potassium-rich feldspar extracts. We demonstrate that there is no systematic increase in De for a preheat temperature range from ∼80 °C to ∼320 °C (60 s duration). After fading correction, age plateaus vary slightly over the temperature range examined, but there is no evidence for an increase in age with preheat temperature. We therefore conclude that the main dosimetry trap(s) in feldspar are not significantly eroded by laboratory heating for up to 60 s at 320 °C, and we tentatively identify the source of this IRSL as a TL peak lying between 410 and 420 °C; this suggestion is consistent with a kinetic analysis of sensitivity-corrected IRSL data. The corollary to our observations is that shallow (unstable) traps do not give rise to a significant IRSL signal.

This article identifies the Pucarilla–Cerro Tipillas Volcanic Complex and its major eruptive source, the Luingo caldera (26° 10′S–66° 40′W). Detailed geological mapping, stratigraphic sections, facies analysis and correlations, including the identification of typical caldera components, allow us to infer the position of a collapse caldera, elongated at N65° and with a diameter of 19 km × 13 km, which is responsible for an eruption of 135 km3 (DRE) of magma. The high-crystal contents of the associated ignimbrites, combined with its tectonic setting, indicate that regional and local tectonic structures played a crucial role in the formation of the caldera.The Luingo caldera is located on the south-eastern border of the Puna, and is the south-easternmost recognised caldera of the Altiplano–Puna plateau. The age of the caldera and its products is 12.1 to 13.5 Ma. Based on its location near the Cerro Galán Complex (2 to 6.5 Ma), we can imply that volcanism existed in the area for about 10 Ma. The caldera morphology and product distribution account for a middle Miocene paleao-topography similar to the present one.

The Soil Conservation Service curve number (CN) method commonly uses three discrete levels of soil antecedent moisture condition (AMC), defined by the 5-day antecedent rainfall depth, to describe soil moisture prior to a runoff event. However, this way may not adequately represent soil water conditions of fields and watersheds in the Loess Plateau of China. The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the effective soil moisture depth to which the CN is most related; (2) to evaluate a discrete and a linear relationship between AMC and soil moisture; and (3) to develop an equation between CN and soil moisture to predict runoff better for the climatic and soil conditions of the Loess Plateau of China. The dataset consisted of 10 years of rainfall, runoff and soil moisture measurements from four experimental plots cropped with millet, pasture and potatoes. Results indicate that the standard CN method underestimated runoff depths for 85 of the 98 observed plot-runoff events, with a model efficiency E of only 0·243. For our experimental conditions, the discrete and linear approaches improved runoff estimation, but still underestimated most runoff events, with E values of 0·428 and 0·445 respectively. Based on the measured CN values and soil moisture values in the top 15 cm of the soil, a non-linear equation was developed that predicted runoff better with an E value of 0·779. This modified CN equation was the most appropriate for runoff prediction in the study area, but may need adjustments for local conditions in the Loess Plateau of China. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

From the Parnaiba Basin to the Borborema Plateau (northeastern Brazil), the crystalline and sedimentary highlands and plains of the huge Jaguaribe–Piranhas amphitheatre are intersected seawards by offset elements of a marginal scarp which overlooks coastal lowlands along the Equatorial Atlantic transform margin. Its stepped surfaces are classically related to regional uplift induced by the break-up of the Gondwana supercontinent, supposed to have triggered the formation, until the Plio-Pleistocene, of successively younger planation surfaces below a culminating Cretaceous surface. A reinterpretation of this topography, combined with analyses of palaeolandforms, surface deposits, drainage anomalies, and structural controls on landforms, is used to obtain ages for significant features of the stepped patterns and to propose a morphostratigraphic scheme for the whole area. It is shown that the regional morphology is widely controlled by structures formed during Early Cretaceous continental rifting and later Aptian oceanic opening. Exhumed pre-Cenomanian palaeolandforms—planation surfaces, residual Cretaceous fault scarps—are identified. This study points out the value of the morphostructural approach for revisiting classical problems of geomorphology such as the meaning of stepped landforms (identification of palaeosurfaces of Cretaceous age at various levels), and the age and origin of planation surfaces. Its results are considered as constraining elements for a further tentative reconstruction of the morphotectonic evolution of this margin.

In order to provide a baseline understanding of gelatinous zooplankton biodiversity and distribution in the rapidly changing Arctic Ocean, 12 stations were sampled across the Canada Basin, Northwind Ridge, and Chukchi Plateau with detailed deep-water ROV observations and multinet tows down to 3000 m. The complex, multi-origin water layers of the Arctic Ocean provided the backdrop for examining the vertical and horizontal distributions of the poorly understood meso and bathypelagic gelatinous taxa. Over 50 different gelatinous taxa were observed across the stations, with cnidarians being the most common group. Medusae accounted for 60% of all observations, siphonophores for 24%, larvaceans for 10%, ctenophores for 5%, and numerous interesting and rarer taxa constituted the remaining 1% of observations. Several new species were found and many major range extensions were observed. Both the vertical and horizontal distribution of species appear to be linked to water mass characteristics, as well as bottom topography and geographic location within the study area. Shallow slope and ridge areas around the Canada Basin and Chukchi Plateau appear to harbor substantially lower gelatinous zooplankton biomass and diversity than the deeper locations. Shallow stations not only show reduced abundance, but also different relative abundance of the major taxa, where the shallow water stations are dominated by large numbers of siphonophores and ctenophores, the deep stations are dominated by medusae. Taxonomic issues and ecological observations of several important species are discussed, aided by the live collection of many undamaged and fragile species.

The early Neolithic sites of La Lámpara and La Revilla del Campo in the Meseta Norte (Northern Meseta) plateau in central Spain produced evidence for early agriculture from the last third of the 6th millennium B.C. The hulled wheats Triticum monococcum (einkorn) and T. dicoccum (emmer) were identified from carbonised plant remains as well as from imprints in pottery and daub. Single finds of charred remains of Hordeum vulgare (barley), Papaver somniferum/setigerum (poppy) and Linum usitatissimum (linseed) indicated other cultivated crops. The wild plants mainly indicated arable weeds, partly from less fertile soils, and garrigue vegetation from poor pastures. The spectrum of crops from the Ambrona sites was compared to other inner Iberian sites as well as to Mediterranean sites. Sediment samples as well as mineral crusts from graves were analysed from the Neolithic tumulus of La Peña de la Abuela. Its diachronic collective burials had originated from a period of time during the first third of the 4th millennium B.C. Probably no crops, but many green vegetative parts of pine, oak, and juniper had been used as funeral gifts. Oak cupula development indicated early summer activities in the grave-mound. Wickerwork made of willow was used for embedding the dead bodies.