BEAVER-POND SEQUENCE MORPHOLOGY AND SEDIMENTATION IN NORTHWESTERN MONTANA

Two adjacent beaver-pond sequences of seven ponds each were examined along the eastern boundary of Glacier National Park, Montana, to determine spatial patterns and amounts of sedimentation, both within individual ponds and along pond sequences. Dams and their associated ponds were categorized into two age groups, young versus old, based on dam morphology and surface vegetation. Old ponds contained significantly more sediment than did young ponds. However, hypothesized patterns of downstream reductions in coarse-grained sediment, both within a pond and along a sequence, were not observed, nor were there any discernible patterns in sediment texture across ponds. [Key words: beaver pond, sedimentation, Rocky Mountains, Montana.]     

Drainage, sediment transport, and denudation rates on the Nanga Parbat Himalaya, Pakistan

The Nanga Parbat Himalaya presents some of the greatest relief on Earth, yet sediment production and denudation rates have only been sporadically addressed. We utilized field measurements and computer models to estimate bank full discharge, sediment transport, and denudation rates for the Raikot and Buldar drainage basins (north slope of Nanga Parbat) and the upper reach of the Rupal drainage basin (south slope).The overall tasks of determining stream flow conditions in such a dynamic geomorphic setting is challenging. No gage data exist for these drainage basins, and the overall character of the drainage basins (high relief, steep flow gradients, and turbulent flow conditions) does not lend itself to either ready access or complete profiling.Cross-sectional profiles were surveyed through selected reaches of these drainage basins. These data were then incorporated into software (WinXSPRO) that aids in the characterization (stage, discharge, velocity, and shear stress) of high altitude, steep mountain stream conditions.Complete field measurements of channel depths were rarely possible (except at several bridges where the middle of the channel could actually be straddled and probed) and, when coupled with velocity measurements, provided discrete points of field-measured discharge calculations. These points were then used to calibrate WinXSPRO results for the same reach and provided a confidence level for computer-generated results.Flow calculations suggest that under near bank full conditions, the upper Raikot drainage basin produces discharges of 61 cm and moves about 11,000 tons day⁻¹ (9980 tons day⁻¹) of sediment through its channel. Bank full conditions on the upper portion of the Rupal drainage basin generate discharges of 84 cm and moves only about 3800 tons day⁻¹ (3450 tons day⁻¹) of sediment. Although the upper Rupal drainage basin moves more water, the lower slope of the drainage basin (0.03) generates a much smaller shear stress (461 Pa) than does the higher slope (0.12) of the upper Raikot drainage basin (1925 Pa).Dissolved and suspended sediment loads were measured from water/sediment samples collected throughout the day and night over a period of 10 days at the height of the summer melt season but proved to be a minor variable in transport flux. Channel bed loads were measured using a pebble count method of bank material and then used to generate ratings curves of bed loads relative to discharge volumes. When coupled with discharge data and basin area, mean annual sediment yield and denudation rates for Nanga Parbat are produced. Denudation rates calculated in this fashion range from 0.2 mm year⁻¹ in the slower, more sluggish Rupal drainage basin to almost 6 mm year⁻¹ in the steeper, faster flowing Raikot and Buldar drainage basins.     

Comparing palaeolimnological and instrumental evidence of climate change for remote mountain lakes over the last 200 years

This paper compares the palaeolimnological evidence for climate change over the last 200 years with instrumental climate data for the same period at seven European remote mountain lakes. The sites are Øvre Neådalsvatn (Norway), Saanajärvi (Finland), Gossenköllesee (Austria), Hagelseewli (Switzerland), Jezero v Ledvici (Slovenia), Estany Redó (Spain, Pyrenees), and Niné Terianske Pleso (Slovakia). We used multiple regression analysis to transfer homogenised lowland air temperature records to each of the sites, and these reconstructions were validated using data from on-site automatic weather stations. These data showed that mean annual temperature has varied over the last 200 years at each site by between 1 and 2 °C, typical of the high frequency variability found throughout the Holocene, and appropriate, therefore, to test the sensitivity of the various proxy methods used. Sediment cores from each site were radiometrically dated using ²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs and ²⁴¹Am and analysed for loss-on-ignition, C, N, S, pigments, diatoms, chrysophytes, Cladocera and chironomids. Comparisons between the proxy data and the instrumental data were based on linear regression analysis with the proxy data treated as response variables and the instrumental data (after smoothing using LOESS regressions) as predictor variables. The results showed few clear or consistent patterns with generally low or very low r² values. Highest values were found when the data were compared after smoothing using a broad span, indicating that some of the proxy data were capturing climate variability but only at a relatively coarse time resolution. Probable reasons for the weak performance of the methods used include inaccurate dating, especially for earlier time periods, the influence of confounding forcing factors at some sites e.g., air pollution, earthquakes, and the insensitivity of some methods to low amplitude climate forcing. Nevertheless, there were trends in some proxy records at a number of sites that had a relatively unambiguous correspondence with the instrumental climate records. These included organic matter and associated variables (C and N) and planktonic diatom assemblages at the majority of sites and chrysophytes and chironomids at a few sites. Overall for longer term studies of the Holocene, these results indicate the need to be cautious in the interpretation of proxy records, the importance of proxy method validation, the continuing need to use reinforcing multi-proxy approaches, and the need for careful site and method selection.     

Mineralogy and petrology of Grenada,Lesser Antilles island arc

The mineralogy and petrology of volcanic and plutonic rocks from the island of Grenada are described. The volcanic rocks include basanitoids, alkalic and subalkalic basalts, andesites and dacites. Phenocryst phases in the basanitoids and basalts are olivine (Fo_90–71), zoned calcic augite, spinel ranging from ferrian pleonaste through chromite to titaniferous magnetite, and plagioclase. Some of the basalts contain pargasitic amphibole. Andesites and dacites generally contain hypersthene and augite, and one pigeonite-hypersthene-augite-bearing andesite was found. Apatite commonly occurs as a phenocryst in the andesites and dacites and quartz is present in some dacites as well as being a possible xenocryst in both alkalic and subalkalic basalts. Plutonic cumulates found as ejected fragments in tuffs and ashes are composed of variable proportions of olivine, magnetite, calcic augite, amphibole and plagioclase. One peridotitic (ol-cpx-opx) fragment was found but spinel or garnet peridotitis are absent. Despite the alkalic nature of the association, calcalkalic characteristics such as calcic plagioclase, restricted Feenrichment in coexisting pyroxenes and generally low TiO₂ content relative to oceanic suites are present in Grenada. Estimates of conditions of equilibration of the basanitoids with potential upper mantle materials using the results of high-pressure experiments are compared with estimates from thermodynamic data. Equating and basanitoid with hypothetical garnet peridotite assemblages gives a pressure and temperature of equilibration in the region of 35–38 kbar and 1550–1625 ° K. Experimental results are not supportive of these estimates.     

Stable carbon isotope evidence for two sources of organic matter in coastal sediments: seagrasses and plankton

Organic carbon from sediments collected in Texas seagrass meadows was enriched in ¹³C by an average of 6.6% relative to organic carbon from offshore sediments. Within the South Texas hay system examined. δ¹³C values became increasingly more typical of offshore sediments with increasing distance from seagrass meadows. This permits the use of carbon isotope data as a measure of the relative contributions of seagrasses and plankton to sedimentary organic matter.     

Paleohydrology and paleochemistry of Lake Manitoba,Canada: the isotope and ostracode records

Lake Manitoba, the largest lake in the Prairie region of North America, contains a fine-grained sequence of late Pleistocene and Holocene sediment that documents a complex postglacial history. This record indicates that differential isostatic rebound and changing climate have interacted with varying drainage basin size and hydrologic budget to create significant variations in lake level and limnological conditions. During the initial depositional period in the basin, the Lake Agassiz phase (12–9 ka), ¹⁸O of ostracodes ranged from –16 to –5 (PDB), implying the lake was variously dominated by cold, dilute glacial meltwater and warm to cold, slightly saline water.Candona subtriangulata, which prefers cold, dilute water, dominates the most negative ¹⁸O intervals, when the basin was part of proglacial Lake Agassiz. At times during this early phase, the ¹⁸O of the lake abruptly shifted to higher values; euryhaline taxa such asC. rawsoni orLimnocythere ceriotuberosa, and halobiont taxa such asL. staplini orL. sappaensis are dominant in these intervals. This positive covariance of isotope and ostracode records implies that the lake level episodically fell, isolating the Lake Manitoba basin from the main glacial lake.¹⁸O values from inorganic endogenic Mg-calcite in the post-Agassiz phase of Lake Manitoba trend from –4 at 8 ka to –11 at 4.5 ka. We interpret that this trend indicates a gradually increasing influence of isotopically low (–20 SMOW) Paleozoic groundwater inflow, although periods of increased evaporation during this time may account for zones of less negative isotopic values. The ¹⁸O of this inorganic calcite abruptly shifts to higher values (–6) after 4.5 ka due to the combined effects of increased evaporative enrichment in a closed basin lake and the increased contribution of isotopically high surface water inflow on the hydrologic budget. After 2 ka, the ¹⁸O of the Mg-calcite fluctuates between –13 and –7, implying short-term variability in the lake's hydrologic budget, with values indicating the lake varied from outflow-dominated to evaporation-dominated. The ¹³C values of Mg-calcite remain nearly constant from 8 to 4.5 ka and then trend to higher values upward in the section. This pattern suggests primary productivity in the lake was initially constant but gradually increased after 4.5 ka.This is the sixth in a series of papers published in this issue on the paleolimnology of arid regions. These papers were presented at the Sixth International Palaeolimnology Symposium held 19–21 April, 1993 at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Dr A. R. Chivas served as guest editor for these papers.     

From Chicago to L.A. and Back Again: A Chicago‐Inspired Quantitative Analysis of Income Distribution in Montreal*

In a recent issue of Urban Geography (2001) , a number of key players in the 1960s and 1970s school of quantitative urban geography (called Chicago II in this article) set out some of the approach's key methodological premises and assessed its influence in the wider arena of urban studies. At about the same time, the 1920s and 1930s Chicago School of urban sociology (called the Chicago School in this article) was being reassessed in France ( Huet 2000 ), and deconstructed in Los Angeles ( Dear 2001 ). In this article, we outline a selection of basic models of urban space proposed by the Chicago School and further elaborated by Chicago II. We then consider certain aspects of three important critiques: humanist/aesthetic, Marxist, and postmodern. We argue that none of these invalidates the Chicago II approach to the study of urban areas, and we demonstrate its resilience and usefulness by way of the empirical example of Montreal. Though the results are of interest in their own right, the principal purpose of the analysis is to illustrate the type of insight that a structured quantitative approach provides and the way this approach rests on a theoretical understanding of processes at work in cities. We conclude by arguing that the humanist and Marxist critiques shed important light upon the possibilities and limits of the Chicago II approach, but that the postmodern claim that the spatial development of urban areas is not structured by at least some general processes is inaccurate.