Radiometric dating of lake sediments from Signy Island (maritime Antarctic): evidence of recent climatic change

Sediment cores from three lakes (Moss, Sombre and Heywood) in the maritime Antarctic (Signy Island, South Orkney Islands) have been successfully dated radiometrically by²¹⁰Pb and¹³⁷Cs. The core inventories of both fallout radionuclides are an order of magnitude higher than that which can be supported by the direct atmospheric flux at this latitude. The elevated values may be explained by fallout onto the catchment during the winter being delivered directly to the lakes during the annual thaw. Two of the lakes (Sombre and Heywood) show marked increases in sediment accumulation afterc. 1950. This appears to be associated with a documented rise in temperature in the South Orkney Islands, which has caused extensive deglaciation at Signy Island.This is the tenth of a series of papers to be published by this journal following the 20 ^th anniversary of the first application of²¹⁰Pb dating of lake sediments. Dr P.G. Appleby is guest editing this series.     

A comparison of the reactions to government taxation measures of twentieth century mining companies and nineteenth century pastoralists

This paper compares pastoralists in South Australia in the nineteenth century with Australian mining companies in the twentieth century as they resist the efforts of government to extract a greater proportion of the wealth created in the exploitation of natural resources. In effect, in both cases the struggle relates to the allocation of economic rent between private and corporate capital on the one hand, and the owners of the resources, the people of Australia, on the other. It is difficult not to be impressed by the similarities in the ideologies, objectives and strategies of these two groups of resource exploiters, separated though they are by over one hundred years.     

A climatology of Southern Hemisphere extratropical cyclones

A climatology of extratropical cyclones determined by an objective automatic scheme applied to 15 years (1975–89) of once-daily Australian Bureau of Meteorology hemispheric analyses is presented. Contour maps of the positions of formation (cyclogenesis), dissipation (cyclolysis) together with other cyclone statistics are presented. The distribution of cyclones through the hemisphere was found to be dominated by a permanent high latitude core coincident with the circumpolar trough. During the winter and intermediate seasons, two mid latitude branches are evident in the cyclone density originating in the Tasman Sea and South American sectors, both spiraling poleward and merging with the circumpolar core in the Southern Oceans. Systems were observed to move in an castsouth-east direction, away from their location of formation, exhibiting peak speeds of migration in the mid latitudes. Little seasonality was evident in the densitiy distribution of cyclones through the Southern Oceans, but a considerable amount was found in their central pressure. Correspondence to: I Simmonds     

Partitioning of siderophile elements in the FeNiS system: 1 bar to 80 kbar

Partition coefficients for Au, Ni, P and Ge between solid FeNi metal and sulfur-bearing metallic liquids have been measured at 7,27 and 80 kbar. To our knowledge, these are the only such data for Au, P and Ge at high pressure. Comparison of our partitioning results to those obtained at 1 bar indicate that only the 80 kbar Ge data differ significantly from the 1-bar experiments. Thus, many low-pressure partitioning experiments in the FeNiSP system may have applicability to the greater portion of the Earth's upper mantle or, alternatively, the entire mantle of Mars.     

Human influence upon sedimentation in Llangorse Lake,Wales

Palaeolimnological studies at Llangorse Lake, Wales, constitute part of the British contribution to IGCP Project 158 (The Palaeohydrology of the Temperate Zone in the Last 15000 Years). The lake has been adopted as the Reference Site for the South Wales region under Subproject 158B (Lake and Mire Environments) and is located in the Reference Area for Britain: the Severn Basin. Results of biological, physical, and multielement chemical analyses on a 12.35 m Livingstone core are presented and compared with previous analyses on short Mackereth cores taken from two troughs in the lake basin. Human impact upon post-glacial sedimentation is assessed with reference to sediment chemistry, physical properties, and sedimentation rates, based on relative pollen, ¹⁴C, and ²¹⁰Pb dating. Vegetational history of the catchment is inferred from a pollen diagram for a section of the core from c. 8 to 6.75 m depth in which evidence for human impact is first apparent. Water content, loss on ignition, and carbonate content are presented for the whole core; density, water content, loss on ignition, carbonates, and elemental analyses of P, Ca, Mg, K, Ti, Al, Fe, and Mn for the interval 6 75 and 8.25 m depth. Sedimentation rates were low during Boreal and Atlantic times (c. 9000- 5000 BP), rose significantly from the time of the elm decline (estimated at 5000 BP) and increased further at c. 1800 BP when nekron muds were succeeded by deposition of silty clay. Inferred rates of erosion of soils from the catchment are discussed and related to sediment chemistry.     

Relationships between marginal thrusting and movement on major,internal shear zones in the Northern Highland Caledonides,Scotland

The development of the syn-metamorphic Sgurr Beag slide zone, a major ductile shear zone of initially low dip, caused at least 50 km north-western thrust displacement of part of the internal metamorphic complex of the Northern Highland Caledonides of Scotland. Initiation of the zone, and movements upon it, were earlier than formation of the marginal Moine Thrust zone. Movement on the zone followed but overlapped the peak Caledonian metamorphism and the mid to high amphibolite facies mineral assemblages, fabrics and structures produced during the development of the slide zone and those surviving from earlier events, were reworked under greenschist facies conditions during mylonitization associated with initiation of the Moine Thrust zone. Displacements on the slide zone and thrust movements were separated by emplacement of a regional suite of pegmatites and a considerable change of metamorphic grade. Thus, they may not constitute members of a progressive sequence of Caledonian thrusts formed over a short time interval. Rather, preliminary isotopic data may imply an interval of c. 25 Ma between movement on the slide zone and final, ductile translation along the Moine Thrust zone.