title: Sedimentary environment controls carbon sequestration potential of unvegetated intertidal estuarine sediments

authors: La Croix, Andrew D.

abstract: Unvegetated intertidal sediments are increasingly recognized as contributors to coastal carbon storage, yet their organic carbon burial potential remains poorly constrained. This study examines spatial and temporal patterns of carbon accumulation in unvegetated intertidal flats of Ōhiwa Harbor, New Zealand, using surface sediments and three radiocarbon-dated cores spanning up to ∼7,700 yrs. Within the harbor, five distinct sedimentary facies were identified, each displaying unique sediment characteristics and patterns of organic carbon burial. Mud-rich, low-energy facies, including rippled and bioturbated muds, consistently showed higher organic carbon density and burial rates compared to sandy, more dynamic facies. Estimated carbon stocks in the upper meter of sediment range from 44 to 120 t C ha−1, comparable to or exceeding those of many vegetated coastal habitats. Temporal changes in facies distribution driven by estuarine processes and variations in sediment supply led to significant long-term fluctuations in organic carbon burial. These results demonstrate that organic carbon storage in unvegetated intertidal flats is highly heterogeneous and controlled by the persistence of fine-grained depositional environments. A facies-based framework offers a process-driven approach to assessing and managing blue-carbon potential in estuarine systems increasingly altered by climate and land-use change.

text: Sedimentary environment controls carbon sequestration potential of unvegetated intertidal estuarine sediments Unvegetated intertidal sediments are increasingly recognized as contributors to coastal carbon storage, yet their organic carbon burial potential remains poorly constrained. This study examines spatial and temporal patterns of carbon accumulation in unvegetated intertidal flats of Ōhiwa Harbor, New Zealand, using surface sediments and three radiocarbon-dated cores spanning up to ∼7,700 yrs. Within the harbor, five distinct sedimentary facies were identified, each displaying unique sediment characteristics and patterns of organic carbon burial. Mud-rich, low-energy facies, including rippled and bioturbated muds, consistently showed higher organic carbon density and burial rates compared to sandy, more dynamic facies. Estimated carbon stocks in the upper meter of sediment range from 44 to 120 t C ha−1, comparable to or exceeding those of many vegetated coastal habitats. Temporal changes in facies distribution driven by estuarine processes and variations in sediment supply led to significant long-term fluctuations in organic carbon burial. These results demonstrate that organic carbon storage in unvegetated intertidal flats is highly heterogeneous and controlled by the persistence of fine-grained depositional environments. A facies-based framework offers a process-driven approach to assessing and managing blue-carbon potential in estuarine systems increasingly altered by climate and land-use change.

year: 2025-12

title: Clustering of research papers based on sentence roles

authors: Fukuda, Satoshi

abstract: In an academic paper search, particularly a search to confirm the originality of a us-er’s research and to create survey articles, it is important that the search returns com-prehensive results related to the user’s information need. [1] proposes a method for efficiently selecting relevant research papers from a vast abstract set, which is based on a topic model and search formula created by the user. In this paper, we construct a system that visually expresses categories included in the reduced set of papers from [1], using a clustering based on the user’s information need and selecting clusters having relevant papers. To generate the clusters based on the user’s information need, it is important to know which structures (such as “background” and “method”) in the abstract are relevant to the information need. This is based on the knowledge that if a user searches the papers related to the automatic construction of a thesaurus, he/she will judge whether a paper is relevant from sentences in the abstract describing the research purpose and method. We therefore propose a method using only the sentence content that matches the information need in the clustering.

text: Clustering of research papers based on sentence roles In an academic paper search, particularly a search to confirm the originality of a us-er’s research and to create survey articles, it is important that the search returns com-prehensive results related to the user’s information need. [1] proposes a method for efficiently selecting relevant research papers from a vast abstract set, which is based on a topic model and search formula created by the user. In this paper, we construct a system that visually expresses categories included in the reduced set of papers from [1], using a clustering based on the user’s information need and selecting clusters having relevant papers. To generate the clusters based on the user’s information need, it is important to know which structures (such as “background” and “method”) in the abstract are relevant to the information need. This is based on the knowledge that if a user searches the papers related to the automatic construction of a thesaurus, he/she will judge whether a paper is relevant from sentences in the abstract describing the research purpose and method. We therefore propose a method using only the sentence content that matches the information need in the clustering.

year: 2018

title: E Whakatipuranga o te Tāpoi Māori - Māori Indigenous Tourism Development: A Whānau based Māori Tourism development

authors: Puriri, Ashley Reed

subjects: Maori Tourism

abstract: This Doctoral thesis uses a Kaupapa Māori research methodology, which is culturally grounded to identify the indigenous Māori underpinnings and processes that a Whānau (Māori family) experience when developing their Māori tourism business. The thesis discusses the following four issues, which are addressed using a Kaupapa Māori research methodology:
1. The gap in the current literature for Māori tourism development and authenticity from a Māori perspective.
2. The cultural underpinnings and processes of a Whānau (Māori family) tourism business.
3. Identification of the Māori cultural values that inform Māori tourism development
4. Development of a cultural framework that positions Māori values on levels of significance from a Māori perspective.
A cultural tourism experience is investigated, involving a Whānau Māori tourism business developed from a conceptual stage in preparation for financial investment. Using a Kaupapa Māori research methodology this research contributes to a gap in the academic literature relating to Whānau (Māori family) tourism development. The research contributes new academic literature to support the notion that the Whānau unit is at the core of social and economic development for Māori tourism. This thesis captures and describes the various stages, developed over a year, of Whānau Hui (family meetings), of a Whānau tourism business. As a Māori researcher, I gained emancipated access to a Whānau using Kaupapa Māori methods, applying a cultural set of protocols and values to unlock access to a Māori worldview of how a Whānau navigates the processes of developing their Whānau tourism experience in New Zealand. The engagement of a Kaupapa Māori research methodology enabled me to apply my personal skills of a lifetime of knowledge of Te Ao Māori (a Māori worldview) and Te Reo Māori (Māori language) combined with over 20 years of global advancement of indigenous tourism in the cruise industry. As a Tohunga Whakairo (master carver) I applied seven distinctive steps of a master carver’s processes in carving a Pou Tokomanawa (the main centre post of a Tipuna Whare orancestralmeeting house), providing a unique cultural process that frames the chapters of this dissertation. The research data provided an enriched flow of cultural information, which was analysed using a cultural analytical process to validate the key themes that emerged from the research findings. The cultural analyses are completed in two stages; the processes of Whakapapa and Whanaungatanga (cultural relationships), which are culturally-grounded methods for analysing research data using a Māori worldview, and the validation of cultural significance by Kaumātua (elders) of the Whānau. The thesis is imbued with cultural paradigms that frame and identify the cultural underpinnings and processes of a Whānau tourism development. The study expands on two cultural models,‘Te Tāpoi Poutama’ and Te Matua Poutama (Māori tourism frameworks for identifying cultural levels of significance) and these cultural paradigms are applied to demonstrate cultural levels of significance that a Whānau place on their proposed Māori tourism business.

text: E Whakatipuranga o te Tāpoi Māori - Māori Indigenous Tourism Development: A Whānau based Māori Tourism development This Doctoral thesis uses a Kaupapa Māori research methodology, which is culturally grounded to identify the indigenous Māori underpinnings and processes that a Whānau (Māori family) experience when developing their Māori tourism business. The thesis discusses the following four issues, which are addressed using a Kaupapa Māori research methodology:
1. The gap in the current literature for Māori tourism development and authenticity from a Māori perspective.
2. The cultural underpinnings and processes of a Whānau (Māori family) tourism business.
3. Identification of the Māori cultural values that inform Māori tourism development
4. Development of a cultural framework that positions Māori values on levels of significance from a Māori perspective.
A cultural tourism experience is investigated, involving a Whānau Māori tourism business developed from a conceptual stage in preparation for financial investment. Using a Kaupapa Māori research methodology this research contributes to a gap in the academic literature relating to Whānau (Māori family) tourism development. The research contributes new academic literature to support the notion that the Whānau unit is at the core of social and economic development for Māori tourism. This thesis captures and describes the various stages, developed over a year, of Whānau Hui (family meetings), of a Whānau tourism business. As a Māori researcher, I gained emancipated access to a Whānau using Kaupapa Māori methods, applying a cultural set of protocols and values to unlock access to a Māori worldview of how a Whānau navigates the processes of developing their Whānau tourism experience in New Zealand. The engagement of a Kaupapa Māori research methodology enabled me to apply my personal skills of a lifetime of knowledge of Te Ao Māori (a Māori worldview) and Te Reo Māori (Māori language) combined with over 20 years of global advancement of indigenous tourism in the cruise industry. As a Tohunga Whakairo (master carver) I applied seven distinctive steps of a master carver’s processes in carving a Pou Tokomanawa (the main centre post of a Tipuna Whare orancestralmeeting house), providing a unique cultural process that frames the chapters of this dissertation. The research data provided an enriched flow of cultural information, which was analysed using a cultural analytical process to validate the key themes that emerged from the research findings. The cultural analyses are completed in two stages; the processes of Whakapapa and Whanaungatanga (cultural relationships), which are culturally-grounded methods for analysing research data using a Māori worldview, and the validation of cultural significance by Kaumātua (elders) of the Whānau. The thesis is imbued with cultural paradigms that frame and identify the cultural underpinnings and processes of a Whānau tourism development. The study expands on two cultural models,‘Te Tāpoi Poutama’ and Te Matua Poutama (Māori tourism frameworks for identifying cultural levels of significance) and these cultural paradigms are applied to demonstrate cultural levels of significance that a Whānau place on their proposed Māori tourism business.

year: 2017