Diagnostic criteria for pronival ramparts : site, morphological and sedimentological characteristics

Pronival ramparts are discrete debris accumulations found below steep rock faces at the foot of snowbeds or firn fields but they are often confused with moraines, protalus rock glaciers or rock-slope failure debris accumulations. This can be attributed to a poor understanding of the modes of rampart genesis, failure to recognise the significance of topography in their development and the use of inappropriate diagnostic criteria. Various characteristics have been suggested for identification of pronival ramparts but these are derived largely from relict features. Research on actively accumulating ramparts has shown that some of the suggested criteria are no longer useful. This paper reviews existing criteria and shows that, for diagnostic purposes, more emphasis should be placed on the attributes of actively accumulating features. A more robust set of criteria, derived from common characteristics of actively accumulating ramparts, are proposed that assists in discriminating relict and active pronival ramparts from other discrete bedrock cliff-foot debris accumulations.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1468-0459hb201

The changing racial profile of academic staff at South African higher education institutions (HEIs), 2005–2013

South Africa has undergone transformation since the end of apartheid governance in 1994. Legislatively enforced, this transformation has permeated most sectors of society, including higher education. Questions remain, however, about the extent to which transformation has occurred in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in general, and across the academic staff body in HEIs in particular. In this study, we examine the transformation of academic staff profiles at HEIs throughout the country. Initially, we graph the racial profile of academics across multiple positions (junior lecturer to professor) from 2005 to 2013. We then use correlational analysis to identify which characteristics of universities in South Africa can be used to explain the racial inequities evident in South African HEIs. Our results indicate that world university ranking; percentage black African staff; percentage black African student body; and whether the university is 'historically disadvantaged', all influence the racial profile of the academic staff body to varying degrees. The size of the overall staff and study body does not appear to influence the racial profile of universities' staff component. We conclude that transformation of the academic staff body of HEIs in South Africa is indeed occurring, albeit slowly. Rather than seeing this as a negative, we argue that the pace of 'academic' transformation in the country needs to be interpreted within the framework of academic governance.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/raer202018-03-30Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorolog

Rock mass loss on a nunatak in Western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

This paper presents the first rock mass loss data for uncut clasts from continental Antarctica. A rock mass loss experiment using doleritic rock samples was conducted over a seven-year period, between 2008 and 2014, at the Vesleskarvet nunataks, Western Dronning Maud Land. The data show that approximately 10% of clasts suffered a mass loss that is an order of magnitude greater than the remaining 90% of clasts. Thus, the observed rock mass loss is suggested to occur in a series of events that are impossible to predict in terms of frequency and/or magnitude. However, extrapolating from the data obtained during the seven-year period indicates that rates of mass loss are slow and of the order of 1% per 100 years. Direct erosion by wind (including abrasion) as well as mechanical and chemical weathering are suggested to be responsible for rock mass loss. Rock properties, the weathering environment, and a lack of available moisture may be contributing factors to the slow rate of rock decay. This paper suggests that in this area of Antarctica, the slow rate of rock mass loss increases the longevity of existing periglacial landforms such as patterned ground and blockfields, but inhibits development of new patterned ground through the slow production of fines.The Department of Environmental Affairs and the National Research Foundation are gratefully acknowledged for logistical and financial support. This work is published under the NRF/SANAP project : Landscape and climate interactions in a changing sub-Antarctic environment (Grant no 93075).http://instaar.colorado.edu/AAAR/index.phphb2016Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorolog

Exploring South Africa's southern frontier : a 20-year vision for polar research through the South African National Antarctic Programme

Antarctica, the sub-Antarctic islands and surrounding Southern Ocean are regarded as one of the planet’s last remaining wildernesses, ‘insulated from threat by [their] remoteness and protection under the Antarctic Treaty System’. Antarctica encompasses some of the coldest, windiest and driest habitats on earth. Within the Southern Ocean, sub-Antarctic islands are found between the Sub-Antarctic Front to the north and the Polar Front to the south. Lying in a transition zone between warmer subtropical and cooler Antarctic waters, these islands are important sentinels from which to study climate change. A growing body of evidence now suggests that climatically driven changes in the latitudinal boundaries of these two fronts define the islands’ short- and long-term atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns. Consequently, sub-Antarctic islands and their associated terrestrial and marine ecosystems offer ideal natural laboratories for studying ecosystem response to change. For example, a recent study indicates that the shift in the geographical position of the oceanic fronts has disrupted inshore marine ecosystems, with a possible impact on top predators. Importantly, biotic responses are variable as indicated by different population trends of these top predators. When studied collectively, these variations in species’ demographic patterns point to complex spatial and temporal changes within the broader sub-Antarctic ecosystem, and invite further examination of the interplay between extrinsic and intrinsic drivers.http://www.sajs.co.zaam2017GeneticsMammal Research InstituteZoology and Entomolog

The changing and challenging research landscape in South Africa

In this paper we critically examine the research landscape in South Africa. We do this by documenting the progression and transformation of the country’s National Research Foundation (NRF)-rated researchers from 2005 to 2015. Results indicate that most NRF-rated researchers in South Africa are white and male but this trend is slowly changing with black Africans increasingly becoming rated. Significantly, the data indicate a clustering at the C-rating category and a paucity of black Africans at the highest A- and B-rating category. Explanations for the results are provided and future trends are discussed in the context of the recent dramatic scale-back of the Incentive Funding for Rated Researchers Programme (IFRRP) – an NRF programme which provided guaranteed funding annually to NRF-rated researchers for the duration of their rating (usually five years). The consequences of the withdrawal of this vital funding lifeline is unpacked in the context of an increasingly competitive global research environment.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cshe202020-10-08hj2019Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorolog

Some observations on the formation of an active pronival rampart at Grunehogna Peaks, Western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

Summer observations of the morphology and the debris accumulation processes at an actively forming pronival rampart at Grunehogna Peaks, Western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica demonstrate that rockfall debris accumulation is causing downslope (outward) rampart extension even though the distal slope is not at the angle of repose. Field experiments show that the vast majority of rocks can traverse a stable firn surface to reach the proximal slope of the rampart and more than half end up on the distal slope or beyond. The formation processes indicate that the morphological characteristics and environmental conditions under which such features develop may be more varied than conceived in current models. Consequently, caution must be employed when fossil ramparts are used to infer palaeo-environmental conditions.The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the National Research Foundation are gratefully acknowledged for logistical and financial support