Paleolimnological studies of saline lakes

Salt water lakes are located in arid to semi-arid regions where evaporation rates exceed precipitation rates. As such, saline lakes are very sensitive to changes in their hydrological cycle. Research into the current limnology of saline lakes is expanding as population growth in these regions increases. Emerging concerns include water diversions, eutrophication, and toxic substances. Paleolimnological investigations of saline lakes are providing valuable new information on paleoclimate and paleohydrology. Such studies may allow for better predictions of the environmental consequences of global warming and for a better understanding of past climate change. Paleolimnological studies may also provide some insight to more recent, anthropogenic perturbations in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world.This publication is the introduction to a series of papers presented at the Conference on Sedimentary and Paleolimnological Records of Saline Lakes. The conference was held August 13–16, 1991 at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. Dr. Evans is serving as Guest Editor.     

Intercomparison of stratospheric water vapor profiles obtained during the Balloon Intercomparison Campaign

The Balloon Intercomparison Campaign (BIC) was set up to intercompare remote sensing measurements of a number of compounds other than water vapor; however, water vapor has strong absorption features throughout the infrared and mm wave regions of the spectrum. Therefore many of the investigators involved in BIC have absorption or emission features due to water vapor in the data they obtained during the balloon flights made under the campaign. These features have been used by the investigators to determine the stratospheric water vapor profiles which are compared in this paper. The profiles allow comparison of a wide range of remote sensing techniques involving both emission and absorption in the mid-infrared and emission techniques in the far infrared.     

Visualizing and interpreting 3-D Euler solutions using enhanced computer graphics

The Euler 3-D deconvolution technique uses potential field data to calculate the position of discontinuities in physical properties without the need of any prior local geological information. Initial difficulties in presenting the Euler solutions in a manner which facilitated interpretation have been overcome using new techniques of image analysis, colour graphics and with real-time rotation of 3-D models. This has provided additional insight into the structure and tectonic history of part of eastern England.     

Inversion of arrival-times in a region of dilatancy anisotropy

Shear-wave splitting has been identified in many three-component seismograms from two separate field experiments on a section of the North Anatolian Fault in North-West Turkey. These observations are consistent with shear-wave propagation through a zone of extensive-dilitancy anisotropy. A preliminary attempt has been made to confirm this interpretation by simultaneously inverting suites of arrival-times for hypocentral locations and for parameters describing an anisotropic halfspace. Although the inversion procedure is not globally convergent, it is possible to recognize the true solution by systematically varying the initial conditions. Applied to selected data sets, the inversion defines several anisotropic models that fit the data significantly better than a simple isotropic model, and display the anisotropy required by the shear-wave splitting. However, most of these anisotropic models are not superior when they are used to individually locate events in a much larger data set. However, for each experiment, there is a single model that produces clearly superior locations for the larger data sets than those of other anisotropic or simple isotropic models. Both models display similar velocity variations which are characteristic of propagation through distributions of biplanar cracks displaying orthorhombic symmetry. The principal axes of the two models are oriented in similar directions and are within 20° of the principal axis of regional stress derived from fault-plane solutions. The solutions indicate low velocities close to the tensional axis, as would be expected in extensive-dilatancy anisotropy.     

Parametric cubic splines and geologic shape descriptions

Parametric cubic splines provide a versatile means of describing and sampling shapes and curves commonly found in geology. These splines allow the researcher to treat easily curves which are not single-valued in Cartesian or polar coordinates. In addition, they simultaneously provide approximations to positions, slopes, and curvatures of the curve being considered. In conjunction with simple digitizing equipment and a small computer, the method of parametric cubic spline approximation allows the researcher to analyze curves or outlines in cases where the more rapid technique involving video imaging equipment is either not applicable or not available.     

Water table effects on the measurement of earth strain

Forced changes in the water head within a granite-penetrating borehole were found to induce anomalously large free-surface strains and tilts in the vicinity of the hole. This deformation is shown to be due to fluid-pressure-induced changes in the aperture of a compliant hydraulically-conductive fracture at a depth of 100 m and a quantitative analysis of the deformation data is performed to recover fracture characteristics. The importance of the effect for secular earth strain measurements is discussed in the light of the ubiquitous nature of both water table fluctuations and fractures in the shallow crust.     

Estimation of the average surface heat flux over an inhomogeneous terrain from the vertical velocity variance

An indirect method of estimating the surface heat flux from observations of vertical velocity variance at the lower mid-levels of the convective atmospheric boundary layer is described. Comparison of surface heat flux estimates with those from boundary-layer heating rates is good, and this method seems to be especially suitable for inhomogeneous terrain for which the surface-layer profile method cannot be used.     

The measurement and extraction of the <nu>6 atmospheric emission band of CFC-12 from interfering emission features

Ground-based thermal emission measurements of the zenith sky have been made at Peterborough, Ontario since January 1993. In this paper, the measurement of the ₆ band of atmospheric CFC-12, an important greenhouse gas, is presented for a cold, clear day in January 1994. A spectrum of the non-CFC-12 emission features has been simulated using the FASCD3P radiation code and measured radiosonde profiles of temperature, pressure and humidity. This has enabled a satisfactory subtraction of the interfering emission features from the CFC-12 emission spectrum. A comparison of the observed and simulated ₆-bands of CFC-12 shows good agreement at all frequencies of emission. From these spectra the total downward greenhouse radiative flux from the CFC-12 ₆ emission based for a very cold day has been estimated to be 0.27 W m⁻²±10%.     

A paleomagnetic study of the Bilecik Limestone (Jurassic), northwestern Anatolia

Paleomagnetic analyses of samples collected from a 500 m thick Jurassic section in the Pontides reveal the presence of two components of remanent magnetization: an unstable, low-temperature component which is removed during thermal demagnetization through 220°C and a dominant component which displays consistent directions through 650°. Curie point and IRM studies indicate that goethite is responsible for the low-temperature component whereas both magnetite and hematite contribute to the more stable component. The pole position determined from the stable magnetization is located at 18.8°N, 91.8°E (α₉₅=7.7°, N=134) indicating that the section has undergone more than 90° clockwise rotation since the Late Jurassic. Ancillary geologic evidence, particularly the orientation of Jurassic facies belts is also consistent with a 90° clockwise rotation in this region of northwest Anatolia. The pole suggests that the section may also have migrated slightly northward. Although the age of these movements is currently unknow, it is proposed that they are principally related to the closure of the Neo-Tethys during the Late Cretaceous/Early Tertiary. Some of the rotation may be related to the right lateral movement along the North Anatolian Transform Fault which was initiated in the Miocene.