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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Medicine and Health Sciences

2003

GeoQuest

Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Mid-Late Holocene El Nino Variability In The Equatorial Pacific From Coral Microatolls, Colin Woodroffe, Matthew R. Beech, Michael K. Gagan Jan 2003

Mid-Late Holocene El Nino Variability In The Equatorial Pacific From Coral Microatolls, Colin Woodroffe, Matthew R. Beech, Michael K. Gagan

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Oxygen isotope ratios in Porites microatolls from Christmas Island in the central Pacific provide high-resolution proxy records of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability since 3.8 thousand years ago (ka). Compared with modern microatolls, reconstructions from fossil microatolls imply that interannual variations in ENSO sea-surface temperature and precipitation were less intense 3.8–2.8 ka, but more pronounced at 1.7 ka. Amplification of ENSO at ∼2 ka is consistent with precessional changes in insolation seasonality, but exceeds model predictions and may reflect stronger rainfall teleconnections through enhanced interaction between the Southern Oscillation and the Pacific Intertropical Convergence Zone.


Intercomparison Of Ndsc Ground-Based Solar Ftir Measurements Of Atmospheric Gases At Lauder, New Zealand, D W. T Griffith, Nicholas Jones, B Mcnamara, Clare Paton-Walsh, W. R. Bell, Cirilo Bernado Jan 2003

Intercomparison Of Ndsc Ground-Based Solar Ftir Measurements Of Atmospheric Gases At Lauder, New Zealand, D W. T Griffith, Nicholas Jones, B Mcnamara, Clare Paton-Walsh, W. R. Bell, Cirilo Bernado

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

A formal intercomparison of atmospheric total column measurements of N2O, N2, CH4, O3, HCl, HNO3, and HF by two ground-based solar Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers conducted as part of the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC) instrument certification procedure at Lauder, New Zealand, is presented. The two instruments were nominally very similar, collocated, and collected data at the same times. Collected spectra were analyzed independently by the individual operators in a blind-phase intercomparison, then reanalyzed by a single operator using identical analysis methods to eliminate any potential …


Long-Term Trends Of Inorganic Chlorine From Ground-Based Infrared Solar Spectra: Past Increases And Evidence For Stabilization, C P. Rinsland, E Mahieu, R Zander, Nicholas Jones, M P. Chipperfield, A Goldman, J Anderson, J M. Russell Iii, P Demoulin, J Notholt, G C. Toon, Jean-Francois Blavier, B Sen, R Sussmann, S W. Wood, A Meier, D W. T Griffith, L Chiou, F Murcray, T M. Stephen, Frank Hase, S Mikuteit, A Schultz, T Blumenstock Jan 2003

Long-Term Trends Of Inorganic Chlorine From Ground-Based Infrared Solar Spectra: Past Increases And Evidence For Stabilization, C P. Rinsland, E Mahieu, R Zander, Nicholas Jones, M P. Chipperfield, A Goldman, J Anderson, J M. Russell Iii, P Demoulin, J Notholt, G C. Toon, Jean-Francois Blavier, B Sen, R Sussmann, S W. Wood, A Meier, D W. T Griffith, L Chiou, F Murcray, T M. Stephen, Frank Hase, S Mikuteit, A Schultz, T Blumenstock

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Long-term time series of hydrogen chloride (HCl) and chlorine nitrate (ClONO2) total column abundances has been retrieved from high spectral resolution ground-based solar absorption spectra recorded with infrared Fourier transform spectrometers at nine NDSC (Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change) sites in both Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The data sets span up to 24 years and most extend until the end of 2001. The time series of Cly (defined here as the sum of the HCl and ClONO2 columns) from the three locations with the longest time-span records show rapid increases until the early 1990s …


Geochronology Of Coal Measures In The Sydney Basing From U-Pb Shrimp Dating Of Airfall Tuffs, Paul F. Carr, M Fanning, Brian G. Jones, Adrian C. Hutton Jan 2003

Geochronology Of Coal Measures In The Sydney Basing From U-Pb Shrimp Dating Of Airfall Tuffs, Paul F. Carr, M Fanning, Brian G. Jones, Adrian C. Hutton

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Zircon-bearing rhyolitic and dacitic airfall tuffs in the Late Permian Sydney Basin coal measures provide ideal chronostratigraphic markers due to their widespread occurrence and rapid emplacement. SHRIMP U-Pb zircon dates for several stratigraphically-controlled airfall tuffs are consistent with their relative ages and biostratigraphic data, and indicate that the Illawarra Coal Measures accumulated in less than ~ 12 million years. Isotopic ages of the A waba Tuff and the Burragorang Claystone Member are indistinguishable within analytical uncertainty and support the correlation of these units proposed previously on the basis of geochemical fingerprinti~g. Deposition of coal-bearing sequences in the southern Sydney Basin …


Anthropogenic Trace Metal Contamination Of Port Kembla Harbour Sediments, Bryan E. Chenhall, Mark O'Donnell, D Garnett, Helen Waldron, Brian G. Jones Jan 2003

Anthropogenic Trace Metal Contamination Of Port Kembla Harbour Sediments, Bryan E. Chenhall, Mark O'Donnell, D Garnett, Helen Waldron, Brian G. Jones

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Detailed geochemical investigation of the bottom sediments in Port Kembla Harbour using neutron activation (NAA) and X-ray-fluorescence (XRF) techniques has delineated areas severely impacted by anthropogenically-sourced trace elements including potentially toxic metals (Pb, Cu) and metalloids (As and Se). In the south western section of Port Kembla Outer Harbour, copper concentrations in excess of 6000 ppm (~30x ANZECC-ARMCANZ (2000) ISQG-high trigger value) are associated with significant (i.e. above ISQH-high) concentrations oflead, zinc and arsenic. The potential source of sediment contamination here is the Port Kembla Copper (formerly ERS and Southern Copper) smelter. Port Kembla Inner Harbour sediments are geochemically distinct …


Resource Significance Of Overwash Sand Deposits From The Southern Sydney Basin, Adam D. Switzer, Kevin Pucillo, Brian G. Jones, Edward A. Bryant Jan 2003

Resource Significance Of Overwash Sand Deposits From The Southern Sydney Basin, Adam D. Switzer, Kevin Pucillo, Brian G. Jones, Edward A. Bryant

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Sand extraction from coastal sand dunes results in significant loss of sand from the natural system, destruction of dune vegetation and dramatic geo-technical modification. This can place significant limitations on land use. The identification of, and extraction from sand bodies that are not part of active coastal barriers or dune structures is therefore considered to be a more environmentally sound practice . Sedimentological investigation of several back-barrier estuarine sequences have located several marine sand deposits within the Illawarra region that meet the above criteria. The action of overwash, possibly by tsunami waves in the late Holocene has deposited large volumes …


The Chronostratigraphy Of A Holocene Barrier Estuary: Lake Illawarra Nsw, Craig R. Sloss, Brian G. Jones, Colin V. Murray-Wallace, Charles Mcclennan Jan 2003

The Chronostratigraphy Of A Holocene Barrier Estuary: Lake Illawarra Nsw, Craig R. Sloss, Brian G. Jones, Colin V. Murray-Wallace, Charles Mcclennan

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Valley-fill sequences, preserved in topographic lows associated with incised valley systems, potentially preserve a record of Holocene sea level fluctuations. A detailed litho- and biostratigraphy of the Holocene barrier estuary, Lake Illawarra, New South Wales has been constructed. Forty kilometres of seismic surveys, forty-one vibracores, supplemented by auger drill holes and trenches, and faunal analysis provides the data for this investigation. A detailed chronology of the infilling of the barrier estuary has been established using 115 aspartic acid derived ages and six radiocarbon ages. The results provide a detailed chronology for the deposition of marine transgressive deposits, barrier growth, and …


Heavy Minerals In Modern Sediments Of The Minnamurra Estuary And Shelf Environment, Nsw, Australia, Rabea Haredy, Brian G. Jones, Adrian C. Hutton Jan 2003

Heavy Minerals In Modern Sediments Of The Minnamurra Estuary And Shelf Environment, Nsw, Australia, Rabea Haredy, Brian G. Jones, Adrian C. Hutton

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Provenance and sediment distribution have been investigated in the Minnamurra estuary and the adjacent shelf in NSW, Australia. Heavy mineral assemblages in the sand fractions (63-250 f.lm) of 110 surficial sediment samples were assessed using microscopic and microprobe analyses. In addition to the dominant opaque minerals, twelve translucent heavy mineral species were identified. The translucent assemblage is dominated by pyroxene, zircon, tourmaline and hornblende. Statistical cluster analysis of heavy mineral percentages in the surficial sediments revealed the existence of five mineralogical facies: the upper fluvial part of the estuary, the Minnamurra spit and elevated inner sand terrace, the estuary inlet …