Relationship of brines in the Kinnarot Basin,Jordan‐Dead Sea Rift Valley

Element ratios and water stable isotopes reveal the presence of only two independent deep brines in the Kinnarot Basin, Israel: the evaporite dissolution brine of Zemah‐1 and the inferred Ha’on mother brine (HMB) with low and high Br/Cl ratios, respectively. HMB is considered to be a representative of the Late Pliocene evaporated Sedom Sea. The freshwater‐diluted evaporation brine emerges as Ha’on brine on the eastern shore of Lake Tiberias and is also identified in the pore water of lake sediments. HMB is converted into Tiberias mother brine (TMB) by dolomitization of limestones and alteration of abundant volcanic rocks occurring along the western side of the lake. The Ha’on and Tiberias brines, both characterized by high δD and δ¹⁸O values, are similar in Na/Cl and Br/Cl ratios but are dissimilar in Br/K ratios because these brines were subjected to different degrees of interactions with rocks and sediments. Excepting the brine from KIN 8, all brines from the Tabigha area including the nearby off‐shore Barbutim brine are related to the TMB. The brine KIN 8 and all brines from the Fuliya and Hammat Gader areas are related to the HMB. The brine encountered in wildcat borehole Zemah‐1 is generated by halite‐anhydrite/gypsum dissolution and is independent from the HMB system.     

Infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) properties of natural aluminum corrosion

In this paper, the infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) property of naturally corroded aluminum and its possible applications in retrospective dosimetry have been briefly studied. Results are interesting, in particular with regard to the efforts of finding new and widely available materials for accident dosimetry. For aluminum corrosion, the dose response was found to be approximately linear between 2–80 Gy and to reach saturation before 300 Gy. The signal also showed good repro-ducibility without significant fading over storage durations of up to four mounts at room temperature. In addition to the luminescence, the corrosion samples were also analysed by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD), but conclusive identification of the luminescent phase could not be made. It is concluded that the IRSL signals of this material can be favourable for dosimetry research.     

THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF SOME ARCHAEOLOGICALLY SIGNIFICANT FLINT FROM DENMARK AND SWEDEN

Flint was one of the most widely employed raw materials for artefact manufacture in Denmark and Sweden during the Stone Age, and it continued to be used during subsequent periods. Prehistoric flint mining and lithic manufacturing studies in these countries have attracted considerable attention, but there have been no recent attempts to chemically characterize the geological source materials. This paper builds on a pilot study ( Hughes et al. 2010 ) and uses energy‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis to determine quantitative composition estimates for nine major, minor and certain trace elements in seven archaeologically significant flint sources in Denmark and Sweden, along with new data on a number of other sources of prehistoric significance. These data provide a geochemical foundation for ongoing research devoted to determining contrasts and continuities in the time and space utilization of flint sources in Scandinavian prehistory.     

Technical Note: Practical Challenges Facing the Selection of Conditional Spectrum-Compatible Accelerograms

There are various possibilities for the selection and scaling of ground motions for advanced seismic assessment of buildings using nonlinear response-history analyses. As part of an on-going project looking at building-specific loss assessment in Italy, this article highlights a number of challenges currently facing the use of conditional spectra for ground motion selection in practice, essentially related to the limited amount of seismic hazard information that is publicly available. To illustrate the points being made, the challenges faced when trying to develop conditional spectra and select spectrum-compatible accelerograms for a rock site in Napoli, Italy, are described and the seismic assessment results obtained for a number of reinforced concrete wall structures are presented. Aside from providing practitioners with an appreciation of the potential difficulty associated with using conditional spectra for record selection, this technical note should also motivate national authorities to provide more background information on national seismic hazard data and detailed guidance for record selection.     

Mormons,Civil Authorities and Lutheran Clergy in Finland, 1875–1889

This article explores the reactions of civil authorities and Lutheran clergy to Mormon activity in Finland between the years 1875 and 1889. At this time, Mormonism was introduced to the country by missionaries who were mainly Swedish natives and who proselytized in the Swedish-speaking coastal areas. Although the impact was numerically small in terms of conversions, the Mormon presence was regarded by the civil authorities and the Lutheran clergy as sufficiently serious to warrant action. Civil authorities responded for example by confiscating Mormon literature and issuing warnings and threats of arrest to missionaries. Clergy, acting from a religious perspective and seeking to impede the spread of new religious movements that they regarded as spiritually harmful, interrupted preaching meetings and warned their parishioners against the perceived heresy. Enforced legislation and strong societal opposition was an important reason for the meagre harvest of Mormon converts in 19th-century Finland as opposed to the other Nordic countries.     

Armenian women of Istanbul: notes on their role in the survival of the Armenian community

This article argues that the Armenian women living in Istanbul are confined to domestic and communal spaces, and that the roles of symbolizing collective territory and identity, and of cultural reproduction of the community, are mostly associated with women. The data and observations we explore here are based on a field survey of Turkey's Armenian community that was conducted in Istanbul between November 2004 and May 2005. Evaluation of this survey based on both quantitative and qualitative methods allows us to draw some conclusions about the roles of Armenian women in the reproduction of Armenian culture. Women's roles indirectly influence Armenian identity, creating the conditions for its survival.     

Geography,GIS and employability in Turkey

Although higher education in Turkey does not have especially well-advanced systems and resources for addressing graduate employability, two developments are making it particularly important for Turkish geography departments to give increased priority to this agenda. One is the country’s new Higher Education Qualifications Framework and the other is a major increase in geography student numbers, which means that geographers seeking school teaching posts (traditionally seen as the natural career pathway) now hugely outnumber the posts available. Against this background, this paper proceeds to explore the potential of geographic information systems (GIS) to contribute to geographers’ employability in Turkey through a study involving the views and experiences of academic staff, students and employers. The paper reveals a mixed picture of both opportunities and challenges. It ends with a series of employability recommendations for geography and GIS in Turkey, a number of which could also be of wider relevance elsewhere.