Synonymy and stratigraphic ranges of Belemnopsis in the Heterian and Ohauan Stages (Callovian-Tithonian), southwest Auckland, New Zealand.

Belemnopsis stevensi, Belemnopsis maccrawi, and Belemnopsis sp. A (Challinor 1979a) are synonymous; B. stevensi has priority. New belemnite material from Kawhia Harbour and Port Waikato, together with graphical study methods, indicates that many small fragmentary specimens associated with B. stevensi in the lower part of its stratigraphic range are probably the same taxon. B. stevensi has been found only in the Middle and Upper Heterian Stage (Lower Kimmeridgian) at Kawhia and only in the Lower Ohauan Stage (Upper Kimmeridgian) at Port Waikato. This apparently disjunct distribution is attributed to poor exposure in the relevant sections. Belemnopsis kiwiensis n.sp., Belemnopsis cf. sp. B, Belemnopsis sp. B, Belemnopsis sp. D, and Belemnopsis spp. are associated with B. stevensi near the lowest known point in its stratigraphic range. The distribution of stratigraphically useful belemnites within the Heterian and Ohauan Stages is: Conodicoelites spp. (Lower Heterian; correlated with Lower Callovian); Belemnopsis annae (Lower and Middle Heterian; Lower Callovian/Lower Kimmeridgian); Belemnopsis stevensi (Middle Heterian/Lower Ohauan; Kimmeridgian); Belemnopsis keari (Upper Heterian; Kimmeridgian); Belemnopsis trechmanni (Upper Ohauan; Upper Kimmeridgian/Middle Tithonian). The apparently extreme range of Belemnopsis annae remains unexplained. Klondyke Sandstone (new) is recognised as the basal member of Moewaka Formation (Port Waikato area)

Engaging with History after Macpherson

The Race Relations Amendment Act (2000) identifies a key role for education, and more specifically history, in promoting ‘race equality’ in Britain. In this article Ian Grosvenor and Kevin Myers consider the extent of young people’s current engagement with the history of ‘diversity, change and immigration’ which underpins the commitment to ‘race equality’. Finding that in many of Britain’s schools and universities a singular and exclusionary version of history continues to dominate the curriculum, they go on to consider the reasons for the neglect of multiculturalism. The authors identify the development of an aggressive national identity that depends on the past for its legitimacy and argue that this sense of the past is an important obstacle to future progress

Design of a speed meter interferometer proof-of-principle experiment

The second generation of large scale interferometric gravitational wave detectors will be limited by quantum noise over a wide frequency range in their detection band. Further sensitivity improvements for future upgrades or new detectors beyond the second generation motivate the development of measurement schemes to mitigate the impact of quantum noise in these instruments. Two strands of development are being pursued to reach this goal, focusing both on modifications of the well-established Michelson detector configuration and development of different detector topologies. In this paper, we present the design of the world's first Sagnac speed meter interferometer which is currently being constructed at the University of Glasgow. With this proof-of-principle experiment we aim to demonstrate the theoretically predicted lower quantum noise in a Sagnac interferometer compared to an equivalent Michelson interferometer, to qualify Sagnac speed meters for further research towards an implementation in a future generation large scale gravitational wave detector, such as the planned Einstein Telescope observatory.Comment: Revised version: 16 pages, 6 figure

Re-evaluating Pleistocene-Holocene occupation of cave sites in north-west Thailand: New radiocarbon and luminescence dating

Established chronologies indicate a long-term 'Hoabinhian' hunter-gatherer occupation of Mainland Southeast Asia during the Terminal Pleistocene to Mid-Holocene (45 000-3000 years ago). Here, the authors re-examine the 'Hoabinhian' sequence from north-west Thailand using new radiocarbon and luminescence data from Spirit Cave, Steep Cliff Cave and Banyan Valley Cave. The results indicate that hunter-gatherers exploited this ecologically diverse region throughout the Terminal Pleistocene and the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, and into the period during which agricultural lifeways emerged in the Holocene. Hunter-gatherers did not abandon this highland region of Thailand during periods of environmental and socioeconomic change

Late Miocene to early Pliocene biofacies of Wanganui and Taranaki Basins, New Zealand: Applications to paleoenvironmental and sequence stratigraphic analysis

The Matemateaonga Formation is late Miocene to early Pliocene (upper Tongaporutuan to lower Opoitian New Zealand Stages) in age. The formation comprises chiefly shellbeds, siliciclastic sandstone, and siltstone units and to a lesser extent non-marine and shallow marine conglomerate and rare paralic facies. The Matemateaonga Formation accumulated chiefly in shelf paleoenvironments during basement onlap and progradation of a late Miocene to early Pliocene continental margin wedge in the Wanganui and Taranaki Basins. The formation is strongly cyclothemic, being characterised by recurrent vertically stacked facies successions, bounded by sequence boundaries. These facies accumulated in a range of shoreface to mid-outer shelf paleoenvironments during conditions of successively oscillating sea level. This sequential repetition of facies and the biofacies they enclose are the result of sixth-order glacio-eustatic cyclicity. Macrofaunal associations have been identified from statistical analysis of macrofossil occurrences collected from multiple sequences. Each association is restricted to particular lithofacies and stratal positions and shows a consistent order and/or position within the sequences. This pattern of temporal paleoecologic change appears to be the result of lateral, facies-related shifting of broad biofacies belts, or habitat-tracking, in response to fluctuations of relative sea level, sediment flux, and other associated paleoenvironmental variables. The associations also show strong similarity in terms of their generic composition to biofacies identified in younger sedimentary strata and the modern marine benthic environment in New Zealand