Large-scale glaciotectonic deformation in the Great Lakes basin, USA-Canada

Investigation of the sedimentology, stratigraphy and deformation structures of an exposed sedimentary sequence associated with an isolated large ridge along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan reveals that it is part of a broad grounding-line fan complex that was subjected to extensive glaciotectonic deformation. It is concluded that the sequence formed following melting back of the margin of the Lake Michigan lobe and was subsequently overridden and deformed during advance of the ice margin probably to the Port Huron moraine. The lack of reported major glaciotectonic structures in the Lake Michigan basin compared to that in the North Sea and Baltic Sea basins is most likely due to paucity of soft and incompetent bedrock and/or lack of continuous permafrost conditions during deglaciation.     

WAVELENGTH SELECTION IN MULTICOMPONENT NEAR-INFRARED CALIBRATION

Modern scanning(near-)infrared reflectance/absorption(NIR)spectroscopes measure the absorptions orreflectances at a sequence of around 1000 wavelengths.Training data may consist of 10-100 carefullydesigned sample mixtures for which the true composition of the mixture is either known by formulationor accurately determined by wet chemistry.In future one wishes to predict the true composition fromthe spectrum.In this paper we compare a simple wavelength selection approach with methods whichretain all the wavelengths.It offers a powerful yet simple technique for choosing those wavelengths thatare specific to each pure component as against the other components(including the medium)for thevarying compositions.In the presence of a defined range of ingredients it thus chooses wavelengths whichare highly selective for each particular component.It has the added advantage of selecting wavelengthswhich are little effected by interaction effects and consequent non-linearities.The calibration data used consist of 125 observations of three sugars,each varying at five levels in afull 5~3 design.The validation set consists of 21 further samples specially selected to have compositionsoutside the range of the training sample.The selection methods perform much better on this predictionset than methods which retain all the wavelengths,700 in this case.The leave-one-out cross-validationinternal to the calibration data would point to the opposite finding and suggests that such cross-validations may be overly flattering to techniques such as partial least squares and may encourageoverfitting.After selection,simple straightforward least squares methods may be used,eschewing theneed for‘shrinkage’methods such as partial least squares or ridge regression.     

Sediment dispersal and palaeohydraulics of Oligocene rivers in the eastern Ebro Basin

Mapping of heavy mineral associations and diagnostic accessories in Oligocene sediments of the eastern Ebro Basin has revealed two major provinces and several sub-provinces. The Pyrenean Province is characterized by an apatite-tourmaline-garnet association with diagnostic staurolite in the west (western Pyrenean Sub-Province) and micaceous composite grains plus chloritoid in the east (eastern Pyrenean Sub-Province). The Catalanides Province is characterized by an ultrastable angular brown tourmaline-staurolite association with kyanite in the south-west (Montsant Sub-Province), faceted garnets and rounded tourmalines in an intermediate position (St Miquel del Montclar Sub-Province) and in the north-east rounded and green tourmalines admixed with clinopyroxene, apatite and micas derived from the Pyrenees (Montserrat Sub-Province). Palaeodischarges have been estimated from 30 channels distributed throughout both major provinces. A gradual decrease in river discharge through Oligocene times is indicated for the rivers of Catalanides parentage, although the discharges of high-sinuosity streams alone remain uniform. This decrease through time of Catalanides drainage competitiveness is reflected in the greater areal extent of the Pyrenean petrological province together with a progressive displacement south or south-eastwards of basinal lacustrine facies. The increasing dominance of Pyrenean drainage during the Oligocene may be due to more prolonged tectonic activity in the Pyrenees compared to the more quiescent Catalanides.     

The Fremont Butte,Washington Co., Colorado,Meteorite

Abstract The Fremont Butte meteorite was found near Fremont Butte, Colorado, in 1963. A single individual was found weighing 6.6 kg. It is an olivine-hypersthene or L group chondrite showing brecciation and a small number of well formed chondrules and olivine phenocrysts.     

Absolute Calibration of the Jason-1 Altimeter Using UK Tide Gauges

This article describes an “absolute” calibration of Jason-1 (J-1) altimeter sea surface height bias using a method developed for TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) bias determination reported previously. The method makes use of U.K. tide gauges equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers to measure sea surface heights at the same time, and in the same geocentric reference frame, as Jason-1 altimetric heights recorded in the nearby ocean. The main time-dependent components of the observed altimeter-minus-gauge height-difference time series are due to the slightly different ocean tides at the gauge and in the ocean. The main harmonic coefficients of the tide differences are calculated from analysis of the copious TOPEX data set and then applied to the determination of T, P, and J-1 bias in turn. Datum connections between the tide gauge and altimetric sea surface heights are made by means of precise, local geoid differences from the EGG97 model. By these means, we have estimated Jason-1 altimeter bias determined from Geophysical Data Record (GDR) data for cycles 1–61 to be 12.9 cm, with an accuracy estimated to be approximately 3 cm on the basis of our earlier work. This J-1 bias value is in close agreement with those determined by other groups, which provides a further confirmation of the validity of our method and of its potential for application in other parts of the world where suitable tide gauge, GPS, and geoid information exist.     

GREENHOUSE GASES FROM DEFORESTATION IN BRAZILIAN AMAZONIA: NET COMMITTED EMISSIONS

Deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia is a significant source of greenhouse gases today and, with almost 90% of the originally forested area still uncleared, is a very large potential source of future emissions. The 1990 rate of loss of forest (13.8 × 10³ km²/year) and cerrado savanna (approximately 5 × 10³ km²/year) was responsible for releasing approximately 261 × 10⁶ metric tons of carbon (10⁶ t C) in the form of CO2, or 274–285 × 10⁶ t of CO2-equivalent C considering IPCC 1994 global warming potentials for trace gases over a 100-year horizon. These calculations consider conversion to a landscape of agriculture, productive pasture, degraded pasture, secondary forest, and regenerated forest in the proportions corresponding to the equilibrium condition implied by current land-use patterns. Emissions are expressed as net committed emissions, or the gases released over a period of years as the carbon stock in each hectare deforested approaches a new equilibrium in the landscape that replaces the original forest. For low and high trace gas scenarios, respectively, 1990 clearing produced net committed emissions (in 10⁶ t of gas) of 957–958 for CO2, 1.10–1.42 for CH₄, 28–35 for CO, 0.06–0.16 for N₂O, 0.74–0.74 for NO_x and 0.58–1.16 for non-methane hydrocarbons.