Spatially discontinuous modern sedimentation in Georgian Bay, Huron Basin, Great Lakes

High-resolution seismic reflection profile data show that the modern sediment cover (over the last 150 years) in Georgian Bay is thin and spatially discontinuous. Sediments rich in ragweed pollen, largely derived from siltation linked to land clearing and European settlement, form a thin, discontinuous veneer on the lakebed. Much of the lakebed consists of exposed sediments deposited during the late glacial or early postglacial. Accumulation rates of modern sediments range from < 0 mm/year (net erosion) to ∼3.2 mm/year, often within a few hundred metres spatially. These rates are much lower than those reported for the main basin of Lake Huron and the other Great Lakes, and are attributed to the low sediment supply. Only a few small rivers flow into Georgian Bay, and most of the basin is surrounded by bedrock of Precambrian gneiss and granite to the east, and Silurian dolostone, limestone and shale to the west. Thick deposits of Pleistocene drift, found on the Georgian Bay shoreline only between Meaford and Port Severn, are the main sediment source for the entire basin at present. Holocene to modern sediments are even absent from some deep basins of Georgian Bay. These findings have implications for the ultimate fate of anthropogenic contaminants in Georgian Bay. While microfossil assemblages in the ragweed-rich sediments record increased eutrophication over the last 150 years, most pollutants generated in the Georgian Bay catchment are not accumulating on the lakebed and are probably exported from the Bay.     

Late Holocene lake level dynamics inferred from magnetic susceptibility and stable oxygen isotope data: Lake Elsinore, southern California (USA)

Southern California faces an imminent freshwater shortage. To better assess the future impact of this water crisis, it is essential that we develop continental archives of past hydrological variability. Using four sediment cores from Lake Elsinore in Southern California, we reconstruct late Holocene (3800 calendar years B.P.) hydrological change using a twentieth-century calibrated, proxy methodology. We compared magnetic susceptibility from Lake Elsinore deep basin sediments, lake level from Lake Elsinore, and regional winter precipitation data over the twentieth century to calibrate the late Holocene lake sediment record. The comparison revealed a strong positive, first-order relationship between the three variables. As a working hypothesis, we suggest that periods of greater precipitation produce higher lake levels. Greater precipitation also increases the supply of detritus (i.e., magnetic-rich minerals) from the lake's surrounding drainage basin into the lake environment. As a result, magnetic susceptibility values increase during periods of high lake level. We apply this modern calibration to late Holocene sediments from the lake's littoral zone. As an independent verification of this hypothesis, we analyzed ¹⁸O_(calcite), interpreted as a proxy for variations in the precipitation:evaporation ratio, which reflect first order hydrological variability. The results of this verification support our hypothesis that magnetic susceptibility records regional hydrological change as related to precipitation and lake level. Using both proxy data, we analyzed the past 3800 calendar years of hydrological variability. Our analyses indicate a long period of dry, less variable climate between 3800 and 2000 calendar years B.P. followed by a wet, more variable climate to the present. These results suggest that droughts of greater magnitude and duration than those observed in the modern record have occurred in the recent geological past. This conclusion presents insight to the potential impact of future droughts on the over-populated, water-poor region of Southern California.     

DISCOVERY OF TWO AUSTRALITES IN LITHFIED ROCKS

Australites have been found embedded in ferruginous grit and silcrete in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.     

Organic carbon isotope ratios of recent sediments from coastal lagoons of the Gulf of Mexico,Mexico

The stable carbon isotope composition sedimentary organic carbon was determined in the sediments of seven coastal lagoons of the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico. For most of the lagoons the δ¹³C values for sediments ranged from ?20.1 to ?23.9%. Anomalously low values, ?26.8 to 29.3%. were determined in sediments of two of the studied lagoons, probably due to the presence of organic carbon from anthropogenic sources, naturally absent in these environments. The δ¹³C values determined in the tissues of oysters collected at the same time in the different lagoons were very similar to those recorded in the sediments.     

A note on climate change adaptation for seaports: a challenge for global ports, a challenge for global society

With 80 % of world trade carried by sea, seaports provide crucial linkages in global supply-chains and are essential for the ability of all countries to access global markets. Seaports are likely to be affected directly and indirectly by climatic changes, with broader implications for international trade and development. Due to their coastal location, seaports are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events associated with increasing sea levels and tropical storm activity, as illustrated by hurricane “Sandy”. In view of their strategic role as part of the globalized trading system, adapting ports in different parts of the world to the impacts of climate change is of considerable importance. Reflecting the views of a diverse group of stakeholders with expertise in climate science, engineering, economics, policy, and port management, this essay highlights the climate change challenge for ports and suggests a way forward through the adoption of some initial measures. These include both “soft” and “hard” adaptations that may be spearheaded by individual port entities, but will require collaboration and support from a broad range of public and private sector stakeholders and from society at large. In particular, the essay highlights a need to shift to more holistic planning, investment and operation.     

Setting new thermal standards for transitional and coastal (TraC) waters

The construction of a new generation of coastal power stations in the UK and other western European countries has highlighted the absence of robust standards for thermal discharges to transitional and coastal waters. The proposed discharge volumes are greater than hitherto, yet there has been little independent critical examination of their potential impact, whilst much of the existing guidance has been adapted from freshwater practice. This review considers the available knowledge on the tolerance and behaviour of fish and other marine biota to heated effluents. Appropriate ways are suggested of grouping fish species to reflect their sensitivity to thermal effects. The plethora of existing standards are considered and their validity assessed in a framework of predicted seawater temperature rise. Those species or groups of organisms most likely to be affected are identified and finally specific recommendations for thermal standards consistent with long term sustainability are proposed.     

Effect of the processing methodology on satellite altimetry-based global mean sea level rise over the Jason-1 operating period

Determining how the global mean sea level (GMSL) evolves with time is of primary importance to understand one of the main consequences of global warming and its potential impact on populations living near coasts or in low-lying islands. Five groups are routinely providing satellite altimetry-based estimates of the GMSL over the altimetry era (since late 1992). Because each group developed its own approach to compute the GMSL time series, this leads to some differences in the GMSL interannual variability and linear trend. While over the whole high-precision altimetry time span (1993–2012), good agreement is noticed for the computed GMSL linear trend (of $3.1\pm 0.4$  mm/year), on shorter time spans (e.g., ${<}10~\hbox {years}$ ), trend differences are significantly larger than the 0.4 mm/year uncertainty. Here we investigate the sources of the trend differences, focusing on the averaging methods used to generate the GMSL. For that purpose, we consider outputs from two different groups: the Colorado University (CU) and Archiving, Validation and Interpretation of Satellite Oceanographic Data (AVISO) because associated processing of each group is largely representative of all other groups. For this investigation, we use the high-resolution MERCATOR ocean circulation model with data assimilation (version Glorys2-v1) and compute synthetic sea surface height (SSH) data by interpolating the model grids at the time and location of “true” along-track satellite altimetry measurements, focusing on the Jason-1 operating period (i.e., 2002–2009). These synthetic SSH data are then treated as “real” altimetry measurements, allowing us to test the different averaging methods used by the two processing groups for computing the GMSL: (1) averaging along-track altimetry data (as done by CU) or (2) gridding the along-track data into $2^{\circ }\times 2^{\circ }$ meshes and then geographical averaging of the gridded data (as done by AVISO). We also investigate the effect of considering or not SSH data at shallow depths $({<}120~\hbox {m})$ as well as the editing procedure. We find that the main difference comes from the averaging method with significant differences depending on latitude. In the tropics, the $2^{\circ }\times 2^{\circ }$ gridding method used by AVISO overestimates by 11 % the GMSL trend. At high latitudes (above $60^{\circ }\hbox {N}/\hbox {S}$ ), both methods underestimate the GMSL trend. Our calculation shows that the CU method (along-track averaging) and AVISO gridding process underestimate the trend in high latitudes of the northern hemisphere by 0.9 and 1.2 mm/year, respectively. While we were able to attribute the AVISO trend overestimation in the tropics to grid cells with too few data, the cause of underestimation at high latitudes remains unclear and needs further investigation.     

Intimate Distance: The Unconscious Dimensions of the Rapport Between Researcher and Researched

To explore how psychoanalysis might contribute to the methodology of human geography, this article returns to Freud's experiences of psycho-logical analysis before he develops psychoanalysis as a distinct understanding of the mind, identity formation, and subjectivity. Going back over the early history of psychoanalysis, Freud's psychoanalysis can be seen as an attempt to solve a set of problems inherent in late nineteenth-century psycho-logical analysis. Thus, it is possible to cast his methodological solutions in a new light. In particular, this article explores the problems associated with the unconscious rapport that developed in the therapeutic use of hypnotism in the cure of hysterical symptoms, for both doctor and patient. Freud's techniques can be seen as a way to produce an appropriate detachment—or intimate distance—between himself and his clients. This intimate distance is instructive. As a corrective to certain trajectories within human geography, this article identifies five methodological propositions that might inform future research.