Encounters with Frank Siebert

Ives Goddard, Curator of the Department of Anthropology of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, is the author of “Eastern Algonquian Languages, in The Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 15. He co-authored, with Kathleen f. Bragdon, Native Writings n Massachusetts and more recently edited The Handbook Of North American Indians, Vol. 17, Languages

Paradigmatic Relationships

Proceedings of the Sixteenth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society: Special Session on General Topics in American Indian Linguistics (1990), pp. 39-5

Geochemical and helium isotopic variability within the Lau Basin

This research incorporates geochemical and helium isotopic analyses of Lau Basin volcanic glasses, along with helium isotopic analyses of water column hydrothermal plumes to better understand the processes that control the formation and evolution of this backarc basin. Lavas newly collected from the four southernmost segments of the Valu Fa Ridge (VFR) reveal gradients in element ratios such as Ba/Nb along axis over the 75 km length of the study area, and show an increase in arc-like geochemical signature to the south. Basalts from the VFR segments and the off-axis volcanoes are derived by 10–20% melting of a source that was previously melted 0.5–1.5% in association with arc volcanism. Melt fraction increases southwards along axis from ~10–15% and ranges up to 20% for the seamounts. 3He/4He ratios in glasses along the Eastern Lau Spreading Center (ELSC), from 20º–22º45’S, reveal an along-axis gradient. 3He/4He decreases from 9.6 RA in basalts at the Intermediate Lau Spreading Center-Eastern Lau Spreading Center transition, to 5.4 RA in low silica lavas at the southern end of the VFR. The decrease in the maximum 3He/4He towards the south is ascribed to mantle heterogeneity. The increased variability in 3He/4He along the VFR is due to processes occurring during prolonged residence of magma in the crust prior to eruption. Basalt 3He/4He values are similar to those measured from high-temperature vent fluids in the same region (Proskurowski et al., 2006). Neutrally buoyant plumes with detectable 3He anomalies (δ3He=65–70%) were present in all of the areas sampled, indicating an abundance of hydrothermal activity along the ELSC. Buoyant plumes with higher δ3He (100–225%) were sampled at two of the target areas. The δ3He anomalies revealed by the hydrocast profiles are ~200 m thick at each site. The depth of the neutrally buoyant hydrothermal plumes shallows from 2300–2600 m in the north to 1600–1800 m in the south. This change occurs in conjunction with the shallowing of the ELSC ridge axis, which is further enhanced by a transition in ridge morphology from axial valley to axial high at 20º 30’S. 3He/heat ratios of 1–2.8×10-17 mol J-1 are calculated for the neutrally buoyant plumes, while lower values of 0.8×10-17 mol J-1 are calculated for the buoyant plumes. These values are similar to those observed in vent fluids sampled from relatively mature hydrothermal systems along mid-ocean ridges (e.g., EPR at 21ºN, Cleft segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge and TAG at 26ºN along the MAR), and about an order of magnitude less than values observed over young lava flows from recently perturbed magmatic systems.Keywords: Lau Basin, helium isotopes, backarc basin, geochemistr

Urban Biodiversity and Landscape Ecology: Patterns, Processes and Planning

Effective planning for biodiversity in cities and towns is increasingly important as urban areas and their human populations grow, both to achieve conservation goals and because ecological communities support services on which humans depend. Landscape ecology provides important frameworks for understanding and conserving urban biodiversity both within cities and considering whole cities in their regional context, and has played an important role in the development of a substantial and expanding body of knowledge about urban landscapes and communities. Characteristics of the whole city including size, overall amount of green space, age and regional context are important considerations for understanding and planning for biotic assemblages at the scale of entire cities, but have received relatively little research attention. Studies of biodiversity within cities are more abundant and show that longstanding principles regarding how patch size, configuration and composition influence biodiversity apply to urban areas as they do in other habitats. However, the fine spatial scales at which urban areas are fragmented and the altered temporal dynamics compared to non-urban areas indicate a need to apply hierarchical multi-scalar landscape ecology models to urban environments. Transferring results from landscape-scale urban biodiversity research into planning remains challenging, not least because of the requirements for urban green space to provide multiple functions. An increasing array of tools is available to meet this challenge and increasingly requires ecologists to work with planners to address biodiversity challenges. Biodiversity conservation and enhancement is just one strand in urban planning, but is increasingly important in a rapidly urbanising world

Biodiversity and Health: Implications for Conservation

The human health and well-being benefits of contact with nature are becoming increasingly recognised and well understood, yet the implications of nature experiences for biodiversity conservation are far less clear. Theoretically, there are two plausible pathways that could lead to positive conservation outcomes. The first is a direct win-win scenario where biodiverse areas of high conservation value are also disproportionately beneficial to human health and well-being, meaning that the two sets of objectives can be simultaneously and directly achieved, as long as such green spaces are safeguarded appropriately. The second is that experiencing nature can stimulate people’s interest in biodiversity, concern for its fate, and willingness to take action to protect it, therefore generating conservation gains indirectly. To date, the two pathways have rarely been distinguished and scarcely studied. Here we consider how they may potentially operate in practice, while acknowledging that the mechanisms by which biodiversity might underpin human health and well-being benefits are still being determined

The morphologization of Algonquian consonant mutation

n/

POSTER: Why Your Students Struggle With Assignments

Do you students have lots of questions when they work on your assignments? Or maybe they have few questions, but what they hand in doesn’t always meet your expectations? If either of these scenarios is familiar, this poster presentation is for you! In their poster, Carolyn and Jenna will provide tips and resources for assessment that both fosters and reflects better student learning. With the goal of increasing opportunities for critical thinking, accountability, and autonomy in our students, we will focus specifically on activities in the classroom that improve understanding and metacognitive awareness in relation to assignments; creating assignments with appropriate language, volume of information, and expectations; and giving useful, objective feedback that aligns with the goals in your rubric. Please bring questions about your own assignments with you