Abstract National defense is viewed by many as a uniquely military activity to fight and win our nation’s wars. The world that we live in today causes us to rethink this idea as the realities of today’s defense missions take shape. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are part of what is reshaping our image of national defense, but also emerging is the recognition that large-scale environmental degradation manifests security threats that can be global in scope. This paper examines this issue in the context of environmental security analysis. Although, the security implication of climate change is the issue that has brought new focus to this concept, this one environmental calamity is not the only environmental security challenge we will face in the future. The paper outlines an approach to analyzing environmental security threats on a regional and world scale. It is a fusion of science, political science, and strategic defense analysis. The product of this work is an environmental security analytical model. The secondary value of this paper is to advance the debate and discussion of environmental security as a fundamental component of strategic defense analysis.

Abstract The U.S. Army will continue to be involved in desert warfare for the foreseeable future. It is imperative that military equipment is designed and tested for use in this environment; that soldiers are trained to operate in the desert; and that they can accomplish their missions under the extreme conditions presented by this distinct operating environment. Understanding desert processes and terrain is fundamental to accomplishing these goals. Scientists have long debated demarcation and classification of deserts, considering many measurable factors. However, few have classified deserts in a way that specifically supports the military missions of operating, training, and testing. This research was undertaken to classify deserts using both physical and military variables and to develop a system that examines deserts from a military perspective. A panel of scientists and military officers developed and tested a model of warm and hot desert classification. The robustness of the model was tested at the Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, and the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California. This work is a preliminary step toward a thorough examination of desert training and testing sites and potential conflict areas in desert locations throughout the world.

Abstract Detailed logging ofkey outcrops and boreholes in the mainly nearshore and marginalmarine sediments of the Colwell Bay Member has enabled regional correlations to be established. The Colwell Bay Member comprises a single depositional sequence, based by a combined sequence boundary and transgressive surface and terminated by a second sequence boundary. Regionally developed omission surfaces delimit five parasequences within the Colwell Bay Member. Environmentally controlled mollusc assemblages indicate progressive SW-to-NE progradation of marginal-marine environments within each parasequence. Previous interpretations of the Solent Group as deposited in a narrow embayment of the proto-English Channel are evaluated and rejected. It is interpreted as a remnant of a wide area of coastal and near-coastal sediments, deposited in a wide embayment of the southern North Sea Basin, now largely removed by mid-Tertiary uplift and erosion.

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