I.—The Physiographic Significance of Laterite in Western Australia

1918 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. 385-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. G. Woolnough

During the last six or seven years a series of valuable papers bearing on the origin of laterite has appeared in the Geological Magazine. The conclusions arrived at have been somewhat diverse and contradictory. Dr. Fermor, on the one hand, regarded the laterites of India as residual in character, and believed that they represented the insoluble residues left in the process of rock weathering after the soluble constituents had been removed in solution. Mr. Simpson, at the other extreme, suggested that they represented the soluble material, leached out of the subjacent rocks during weathering under peculiar conditions, and deposited as a chemically-formed rock by precipitation at the surface of the earth.

1975 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 395-407
Author(s):  
S. Henriksen

The first question to be answered, in seeking coordinate systems for geodynamics, is: what is geodynamics? The answer is, of course, that geodynamics is that part of geophysics which is concerned with movements of the Earth, as opposed to geostatics which is the physics of the stationary Earth. But as far as we know, there is no stationary Earth – epur sic monere. So geodynamics is actually coextensive with geophysics, and coordinate systems suitable for the one should be suitable for the other. At the present time, there are not many coordinate systems, if any, that can be identified with a static Earth. Certainly the only coordinate of aeronomic (atmospheric) interest is the height, and this is usually either as geodynamic height or as pressure. In oceanology, the most important coordinate is depth, and this, like heights in the atmosphere, is expressed as metric depth from mean sea level, as geodynamic depth, or as pressure. Only for the earth do we find “static” systems in use, ana even here there is real question as to whether the systems are dynamic or static. So it would seem that our answer to the question, of what kind, of coordinate systems are we seeking, must be that we are looking for the same systems as are used in geophysics, and these systems are dynamic in nature already – that is, their definition involvestime.


2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (11) ◽  
pp. 4221-4227 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. McKenzie

Abstract. This paper provides an analysis of the combined theory of gravity-inertial-Rossby waves on a β-plane in the Boussinesq approximation. The wave equation for the system is fifth order in space and time and demonstrates how gravity-inertial waves on the one hand are coupled to Rossby waves on the other through the combined effects of β, the stratification characterized by the Väisälä-Brunt frequency N, the Coriolis frequency f at a given latitude, and vertical propagation which permits buoyancy modes to interact with westward propagating Rossby waves. The corresponding dispersion equation shows that the frequency of a westward propagating gravity-inertial wave is reduced by the coupling, whereas the frequency of a Rossby wave is increased. If the coupling is sufficiently strong these two modes coalesce giving rise to an instability. The instability condition translates into a curve of critical latitude Θc versus effective equatorial rotational Mach number M, with the region below this curve exhibiting instability. "Supersonic" fast rotators are unstable in a narrow band of latitudes around the equator. For example Θc~12° for Jupiter. On the other hand slow "subsonic" rotators (e.g. Mercury, Venus and the Sun's Corona) are unstable at all latitudes except very close to the poles where the β effect vanishes. "Transonic" rotators, such as the Earth and Mars, exhibit instability within latitudes of 34° and 39°, respectively, around the Equator. Similar results pertain to Oceans. In the case of an Earth's Ocean of depth 4km say, purely westward propagating waves are unstable up to 26° about the Equator. The nonlinear evolution of this instability which feeds off rotational energy and gravitational buoyancy may play an important role in atmospheric dynamics.


Traditio ◽  
1946 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 1-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Merlan

According to Aristotle all heavenly movement is ultimately due to the activity of forty-seven (or fifty-five) ‘unmoved movers'. This doctrine is highly remarkable in itself and has exercised an enormous historical influence. It forms part of a world-picture the outlines of which are as follows. The universe consists of concentric spheres, revolving in circles. The outermost of these bears the fixed stars. The other either bear planets or, insofar as they do not, contribute indirectly to the movements of the latter. Each sphere is moved by the one immediately surrounding it, but also possesses a movement of its own, due to its mover, an unmoved, incorporeal being. (It was these beings which the schoolmen designated as theintelligentiae separatae.) The seemingly irregular movements of the planets are thus viewed as resulting from the combination of regular circular revolutions. The earth does not move and occupies the centre of the universe. Such was Aristotle's astronomic system, essential parts of which were almost universally adopted by the Arabic, Jewish, and Christian philosophers of the Middle Ages.


1943 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
pp. 329-356 ◽  

Born on 10 September 1859, John Norman Collie was the second son of John Collie and the grandson of George Collie, an Aberdeen merchant, whose ancestors came from Ireland in the days of Cromwell. George Collie married Margaret Roy, the daughter of Captain Roy McGregor. George Collie’s brother was a surgeon in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic wars. He served on the warships which annexed Western Australia. He discovered the Collie river, and the town of Collie, also named after him, celebrated its centenary in 1935 when the Premier of Western Australia unveiled a statue to him. Dr Collie wrote to his brother George a number of letters in which he described his experiences in Western Australia, and these letters, as the result of negotiations by Professor N. T. M. Wilsmore, himself a native of Perth, W. A.,and a student and later a lecturer at University College, London, are now in the archives of the cities of Perth and Canberra. John Collie married Selina Mary, the third daughter of Henry Winkworth, the son of the Rev. Henry Winkworth who was the vicar of St Saviour’s, Southwark. Henry Winkwrorth married Miss Dickenson of Kentish origin and had by her four daughters, Catherine, Susanna, Selina Mary and Alice, and two sons. Catherine was the author of Lyra Germanica , and Susanna wrote a life of Catherine. Susanna worked for many years in Clifton and Bristol on the provision of model dwellings for workpeople and was in fact one of the pioneers in this field. John Collie and his wife had four sons, the two eldest being Henry and John Norman, and one daughter, Susan Margaret, who was their third child and for many years Head of the Bedford High School for Girls. The foregoing epitome of John Norman’s ancestry is of considerable interest. On the one side he had Highland blood in him and from the other he inherited the Winkworth personality which revealed itself in so many members of that family. To this may be attributed the outstanding personality with which he was unquestionably endowed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-137
Author(s):  
Boris Shoshitaishvili

The scientific discovery of our universe’s immense cosmological history and Earth’s vast geologic history has radically altered common perceptions of time, prompting us to think in terms of millions and billions of years rather than hundreds and thousands. Meanwhile human societies impact the Earth System at accelerating rates and more comprehensively than ever before, leading scientists to propose the new geological epoch of the Anthropocene. These two contrasting temporal transformations have mostly been considered separately: the expanding awareness of cosmological and geologic duration, on the one hand, and the acute sense of swift technological change, on the other. However, their contrast and coexistence are important to recognize. The challenge of understanding the Anthropocene’s complex timescales is partly due to the inability of human institutions to reconcile this twofold disruption whereby time has both expanded (into deep time) and compressed (in techno-social acceleration). After theorizing this transformation, I evaluate the current cosmic stories helping human beings reconceptualize the new timescape.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunday Adeniyi Fasoro

AbstractThe trend toward the concept of humanity in political theory has arisen largely as a reaction against the mistreatment of vulnerable people such as immigrants. The issue of immigrants’ vulnerability has led political thinkers to ponder on how to apply the principle of humanity to the question of the treatment of immigrants. I would like to address this matter by examining two questions: what is humanity, is it a value property, or a virtue? Does it really matter if the means by which an immigrant immigrates is demeaning to his own humanity as a person? The most common or intuitive reply to these questions would probably be: ‘humanity’ is simply a value-bestowing property, so regardless of immigrants’ actions they are owed respectful treatment. The aim of this paper is to emphasise instead that ‘humanity’ should be conceived as a virtue of actual commitment to act on moral principles. I explore three different meanings of humanity. First, I discuss ‘humanity’ as the common ownership of the earth. Second, I discuss ‘humanity’ as a value property. Third, I discuss humanity as a virtue of acting, on the one hand, with humanity, and on the other hand, on moral principles.


Geophysics ◽  
1964 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 1031-1045
Author(s):  
Antonio C. Limón

In order to obtain the best possible seismic field record, it is indispensible on the one hand to know the response of the earth to the explosion, and on the other hand to operate the seismograph equipment with suitable settings.


1881 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 337-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Aitken

Water is perhaps the most abundant and most universally distributed form of matter on the earth. It has to perform more varied functions and more important duties than any other kind of matter with which we are acquainted. From its close connection with all forms of life, it has been the subject of deepest interest in all ages. It is constantly changing from one of its states to another. At one time it is solid, now liquid, and then gaseous. These changes take place in regular succession, with every return of day and night, and every successive season; and these changes are constantly repeating themselves with every returning cycle. Of these changes, the one which perhaps has the greatest interest for us, and which has for long ages been the subject of special observation, is the change of water from its vaporous state, to its condensation into clouds, and descent as rain. Ever since man first “observed the winds “and “regarded the clouds,” and discovered that “fair weather cometh out of the north,” this has been the subject of intensest human interest, and at present forms one of the most important parts of the science of meteorology, a science in which perhaps more observations have been made and recorded than in all the other sciences together.


Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronnie D. Lipschutz

In this article, I explore four California-based eco-utopias: The Earth Abides (George Stewart, 1949), Ecotopia (Ernest Callenbach, 1975), Pacific Edge (Kim Stanley Robinson, 1990), and Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson, 1992). All four novels were written during, and deeply informed by, the Cold War (Although published in 1992, Snow Crash was clearly written toward the end of the Cold War and in the shadow of Soviet implosion), against a backdrop of imminent nuclear holocaust and a doubtful future. Since then, climate change has replaced the nuclear threat as a looming existential dilemma, on which a good deal of writing about the future is focused. Almost 70 years after the appearance of The Earth Abides, and 40 years after the publication of Ecotopia, eco-utopian imaginaries now seem both poignant yet more necessary than ever, given the tension between the anti-environmental proclivities of the Trump Administration, on the one hand, and the tendency of climate change to suck all of the air out of the room, on the other. And with drought, fire, flood, wind and climate change so much in the news, it is increasingly difficult to imagine eco-utopias of any sort; certainly they are not part of the contemporary zeitgeist—except in the minds of architects, bees and futurists, perhaps. But does this mean there is no point in thinking about them, or seeking insights that might make our future more sustainable? This article represents an attempt to revive eco-utopian visions and learn from them.


Author(s):  
Johannes Schmidt

Herder uses the image of the spherical shape of the earth as a matrix to evaluate the contrast between plurality and universality: it illustrates the tension between the individuality of diverse peoples and cultures, on the one hand, and the universal identity of the human species, on the other. While Herder’s “globe ontology” implies a rejection of hierarchically structured—and thus normatively laden—theories of history and culture, it does rely on an idea of humanity as a telos embedded in western thinking. Thus at the end of the Ideen Herder praises the glory of Europe, while at the same time acknowledging the value of each individual people. This essay demonstrates that while Herder might think in oppositions, it is precisely this feature of his philosophy that enables him to advance a nuanced and innovative position that goes beyond many historiographical and cultural-theoretical conceptions of the eighteenth century.


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