The October 2008 Nový Kostel earthquake swarm and its gas geochemical precursor

A gas geochemical precursor anomaly was identified prior to the October 2008 Nový Kostel (Czech Republic) earthquake swarm with a peak magnitude M_L of 3.8. This anomaly was observed as a deviation of CO₂ concentrations from the long‐term annual CO₂ concentration trend in the gas extracted from the scree at the Nový Kostel and Old?i?ská gas monitoring stations, which are directly above the Plesná valley‐Po?átky and Mariánské Lázně fault systems. Both sites are located within the major focal zone of the NW Bohemian swarm earthquake region at the northern edge of the Cheb Basin. A decrease in CO₂ concentration started at Nový Kostel in September 2008, 17 days before the swarm, opposite to the usually increasing annual trend in the autumn period, and ended with a nearly coseismic drop immediately prior to the onset of the first swarm. The CO₂ concentrations at Old?i?ská, deviating from the annual trend, did not further increase after August 2008. The calculated horizontal strain field, based on the data of two permanent Global Navigation Satellite Systems stations, proved there was horizontal compression in this period. The increasing compression along the Plesná valley‐Po?átky and Mariánské Lázně fault systems during the stress build‐up reduced the fault permeability prior to this earthquake swarm as indicated by the decrease in CO₂ concentration. The 17‐day duration of the earthquake precursor at Nový Kostel and about 65 days at Old?i?ská lie within the range of the precursor times that are hypothesized worldwide for an M_L = 3.8 earthquake. The nature of earthquake precursors and their origin are discussed, for example, as an indication of changed fault permeability by stress build‐up in the case of the Nový Kostel swarm earthquake precursor or as fault opening in other cases.     

Chemical evolution of metamorphic fluids in the Central Alps,Switzerland: insight from LA‐ICPMS analysis of fluid inclusions

The chemical evolution of fluids in Alpine fissure veins (open cavities with large free‐standing crystals) has been studied by combination of fluid inclusion petrography, microthermometry, LA‐ICPMS microanalysis, and thermodynamic modeling. The quartz vein systems cover a metamorphic cross section through the Central Alps (Switzerland), ranging from subgreenschist‐ to amphibolite‐facies conditions. Fluid compositions change from aqueous inclusions in subgreenschist‐ and greenschist‐facies rocks to aqueous–carbonic inclusions in amphibolite‐facies rocks. The fluid composition is constant for each vein, across several fluid inclusion generations that record the growth history of the quartz crystals. Chemical solute geothermometry, fluid inclusion isochores, and constraints from fluid–mineral equilibria modeling were used to reconstruct the pressure–temperature conditions of the Alpine fissure veins and to compare them with the metamorphic path of their host rocks. The data demonstrate that fluids in the Aar massif were trapped close to the metamorphic peak whereas the fluids in the Penninic nappes record early cooling, consistent with retrograde alteration. The good agreement between the fluid–mineral equilibria modeling and observed fluid compositions and host‐rock mineralogy suggests that the fluid inclusions were entrapped under rock‐buffered conditions. The molar Cl/Br ratios of the fluid inclusions are below the seawater value and would require unrealistically high degrees of evaporation and subsequent dilution if they were derived from seawater. The halogen data may thus be better explained by interaction between metamorphic fluids and organic matter or graphite in metasedimentary rocks. The volatile content (CO₂, sulfur) in the fluid inclusions increases systematically as function of the metamorphic grade, suggesting that the fluids have been produced by prograde devolatilization reactions. Only the fluids in the highest grade rocks were partly modified by retrograde fluid–rock interactions, and all major element compositions reflect equilibration with the local host rocks during the earliest stages of postmetamorphic uplift.     

National Planning Systems Between Convergence and Incongruity: Implications for Cross-Border Cooperation from the German–Polish Perspective

Convergence of national planning systems in Europe has become an important issue in the context of transnational and cross-border planning, which in turn plays a key role in the policy of creating a cohesive European space. Converging trends concerning planning styles and structures may undoubtedly be detected and also include new European Union (EU) member countries. Yet, by a minute's inspection of the (long-established) German and of the (created in the run-up to EU membership) Polish planning system from a cross-border planning perspective, it becomes obvious that similar structures may not coincide with a similar idea of what spatial planning is about. As highlighted by two chosen examples—cross-border twin-city and metropolitan planning—this results in significant hindrances for planning cooperation in its own right. The article concludes that any convergence of planning systems—if it was to have a constructive impact on cross-border planning—needs to be based on the acceptance of joint planning standards, objectives and values.     

Cultural development: a new policy paradigm in the cultural policies of the 1970s in Québec

The common expression of ‘cultural development’ appears in many cultural policy statements without it necessarily arousing questions about its precise meaning. Indeed, we usually spontaneously associate ‘cultural development’ to any governmental intervention that aims at stimulating cultural vitality. However, if we look more closely at the origin of this concept, we soon discover that its appearance on the eve of May 68, in France, corresponds to the rise of new concerns in cultural policy matters and to a radical redefinition of the state’s role in this domain. Still enjoying a strong influence, France’s political transformations were closely followed by some Quebecois politicians and socially engaged intellectuals who were participating, at that time, in the formulation of a new political vision in cultural matters in Québec in the 1960s and 1970s. The objective of this paper is thus to retrace the origin of the idea of cultural development and follow its evolution in Québec.     

Madagascar

EUROPE

Light and Shade in France. By Moma Clarke. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. Pp. ix+236. London : John Murray, 1939. A Cheap Edition. Price 5s.

Historic Thorn Trees in the British Isles. By Vaughan Cornish, D.Sc. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. Pp. 94. London : Country Life Ltd. Price 8s. 6d.

History under Fire. By J. Pope‐Hennessy. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. Pp. viii+117. London : Batsford Ltd., 1941. Price 8s. 6d.

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The West Highlands and the Hebrides. By Alfred Harker. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. Pp. xxiii+127. London: Cambridge University Press, 1941. Price 8s. 6d.

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Iceland, Past and Present. By Björn Thórdarson. Crown 4to. Pp. 47. London : Oxford University Press, 1941. Price 1s. net.

Captured. By Bessie Myers. Demy 8vo. Pp. 256. London : Harrap and Co. Ltd., 1941. Price 8s. 6d.

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Europe's Trade. Economic Intelligence Service. Pp. 116. Geneva: League of Nations, 1941.

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From Hobo to Cannibal King. By C. J. Thornhill. Demy 8vo. Pp.319. London : Stanley Paul Ltd., 1941. Price 2s. 6d.

In Morocco with the Legion. By G. Ward Price. Demy 8vo. Pp.288. London : Jarrolds Ltd., 1941. Price 2s. 6d.

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African Intrigue. By A. Bateson. Demy 8vo. Pp. 288. London: Jarrolds Ltd., 1941. Price 2s. 6d.

Beyond the Smoke that Thunders. By L. P. Cullen. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. Pp.341. London: Oxford University Press, 1941. Price 15s.

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North of Singapore. By Carveth Wells. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. Pp. 267. London : Jarrolds Ltd., 1941. Price 19s.

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Green Prison. By Leigh Williams. Demy 8vo. Pp. 252. London : Herbert Jenkins Ltd., 1941. Price 12s. 6d.

Dawn Watch in China. By Joy Homer. Demy 8vo. Pp.288. London : Collins Ltd., 1941. Price 12s. 6d.

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Outposts of War. By Gordon Young. Cr. 8vo. Pp. 252. London: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1941. Price 5s.

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Quest. By George Dibbern. Demy 8vo. Pp. 421. London : The Bodley Head Ltd., 1941. Price 12s. 6d.

The Mountain Vision. By Frank Smythe. Illustrated. Pp. 308. London : Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1941. Price 18s.

The Bases of a World Commonwealth. By C. B. Fawcett. Demy 8vo. Pp. xi+167. London : Watts and Co., 1941. Price 7s. 6d.

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Wales : A Study in Geography and History. By E. G. Bown. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. Pp. xvi+182. Cardiff: Univ. of Wales Press Board. Price 3s. 6d.

France. By John Finnemore. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. Pp. vi+90. London : A. and C. Black Ltd., 1941. Price 1s. 6d.     

ACADEMICIAN N. I. VAVILOV AND THE GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF THE USSR

Academician N. I. Vavilov (1887-1943) served as president of the Geographical Society of the USSR from 1931 to 1940. A distinguished plant breeder, geneticist, explorer for wild ancestors of cultivated plants, and geographer, he traveled widely and reported regularly to the Society on his explorations and discoveries. Together with Yu. N. Shokal'skiy, then the honorary president, he brought many new initiatives to the activities of the Society. They arranged for the transfer of the Society from the People's Comissariat of Education of the RSFSR to the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. The First All-Union Congress of Geographers of the USSR was held in 1933, participation in international congresses was arranged, international co-operation was sponsored, membership was increased sharply, sections and commissions were established or revived, a series of public lectures was organized, a lecture hall was opened, and the scientific archives were enriched. Vavilov was especially interested in the work of the Section on History of Geographical Knowledge and participated actively in special issues of Izvestiya of the Society and in commemorative meetings at the Society devoted to individual geographers who had made particularly significant contributions to geographical knowledge (translated by Chauncy D. Harris, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637-1583).