Dans le contexte du réchauffement climatique, des états et des villes s’engagent à réduire leurs émissions de gaz à effet de serre et en particulier celles de CO2. Une quantification précise des émissions est nécessaire aux scientifiques et aux décideurs politiques. La qualité des inventaires des émissions dues à la consommation des combustibles fossiles, qui reposent sur des données statistiques compilées et rapportées par les émetteurs, reste très variable selon les pays. Les mesures atmosphériques et la modélisation inverse pourraient fournir une information indépendante pour la vérification de ces émissions. Il est cependant difficile de séparer le signal de CO2 fossile (CO2CF) du signal des flux naturels dans les mesures atmosphériques fournies par les réseaux continentaux de mesure au sol. L’objectif de ma thèse est d’améliorer la compréhension du potentiel des données de 14CO2, un des traceurs permettant de séparer le signal de CO2CF des autres sources de CO2, pour l’estimation objective des émissions fossiles aux échelles nationales par inversion atmosphérique.J’ai développé des systèmes d’inversions mondiaux basés sur le modèle de transport atmospherique LMDz à basse résolution (2.5° ×3.75°), et reposant sur des réseaux de mesure du CO2 et du 14CO2, résolvant les émissions fossiles à l’échelle subcontinentale / mensuelle en Europe et en Chine.Dans le Chapitre 2, j’ai défini et quantifié les sources d’erreurs de modélisationprincipales, puis analysé leur impact pour l’estimation des bilans d’émissions fossiles à grande échelle avec un système d’inversion mondial en faisant l’hypothèse que les données de CO2CF peuvent être directement déduites des données de 14CO2. Les analyses soulignent l’impact de la méconnaissance de la distribution spatiale des émissions de CO2 et du CO2CF aux résolutions spatiales plus fines que celle du modèle de transport.Dans le Chapitre 3, j’ai utilisé le système, les hypothèses et les diagnostics d’erreurs de modélisation du Chapitre 2 dans une série d’expériences avec des données synthétiques pour évaluer le potentiel d’un tel système d’inversion et de différents réseaux d’observation virtuels pour l’estimation les bilans régionaux d' émission fossile en Europe. Les résultats indiquent qu’en assimilant des moyennes sur 2 semaines de mesures CO2CF issues du réseau actuel de 17 sites 14CO2 en Europe, l’inversion réduirait l’incertitude sur les émissions mensuelles pour l’Ouest de l’Allemagne de 30% par rapport à l’incertitude supposée sur les inventaires utilisés comme connaissance a priori dans le cadre du formalisme Bayésien de l’inversion. En utilisant un réseau plus dense en Europe, constitué de 43 futurs sites, des réductions d’incertitude de 47% pourraient être réalisées pour les bilans annuels des émissions pour les régions où le réseau serait le plus dense.Dans le Chapitre 4, j’ai implémenté un système d’inversion global isotopique permettant d'assimiler conjointement des données atmosphériques de CO2 et de 14CO2 pour résoudre simultanément les émissions fossiles et les flux naturels de CO2 en Europe et en Chine. L’objectif est de dépasser l’hypothèse que les variations de 14CO2 ne sont liées qu’au CO2CF, en tenant compte ses flux de 14CO2 non fossiles. Les résultats confirment que les données de 14CO2 sont utiles pour séparer le CO2CF du signal des flux naturels près des régions fortement émettrices, rendant les données de 14CO2 moyennes sur 2 semaines plus efficaces que les données journalières de CO2 pour l’estimation des émissions. / Climate change has prompted nations, provinces, and cities to take actions to reduce anthropogenic sources of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Accurate and consistent quantification of the emissions is required for both scientists and policymakers. Inventories of the CO2 emissions due to fossil fuel combustion are based on statistical data collected and reported by the emitters themselves and their quality is highly variable between countries. In principle, atmospheric measurements and inverse modeling could provide independent information to verify and evaluate these emissions. However, there are difficulties to separate the fossil fuel CO2 signal (FFCO2) from the signal of natural CO2 fluxes, in the atmospheric CO2 measurements from ground based continental networks. In this thesis, I aimed to improve the understanding of the potential of atmospheric 14CO2 measurements, one of the few tracers helping to separate FFCO2 from the signal of other CO2 sources, for the objective estimate of the fossil fuel emissions at national or provincial scales based on atmospheric inversion.I developed global inversion systems based on the global coarse-resolution (2.5°×3.75°) LMDZ atmospheric transport model, and on continental networks of atmospheric observations of CO2 and 14CO2, solving for the fossil fuel emissions at sub-continental / monthly scales in Europe and in China.In Chapter 2, I defined and quantified critical sources of modeling errors and their impact on the inversion of large-scale budget of the fossil fuel emissions when using a global inversion system and assuming FFCO2 data can be directly derived from 14CO2 measurements. The analysis highlighted the impact of ignoring the spatial distribution of the emissions and FFCO2 at a resolution higher than that of the transport model.In Chapter 3, I applied inversions with the system, assumptions and diagnostics of the modeling error from Chapter 2 in a series of Observing System Simulation Experiments to evaluate the skill of such an inversion system and of different virtual observation networks for estimating regional budgets of fossil fuel emissions in Europe. Results indicate that if assimilating continuous 2-week mean FFCO2 data from 17 existing 14CO2 European sites, the inversion would reduce the uncertainties in monthly fossil fuel emissions of western Germany by 30% compared to the assumed uncertainty in the inventories used as a prior knowledge in the Bayesian framework of the inversion. Using a larger network of 43 European sites that may be available in the future, up to 47% uncertainty reduction could be achieved for annual budgets of fossil fuel emissions for regions where the network would be the densest.In Chapter 4, I implemented a global isotopic inversion system that jointly assimilates atmospheric observations of CO2 and 14CO2 to simultaneously solve for fossil fuel emissions and natural CO2 fluxes over Europe and China. The purpose is to move beyond the assumption that variations in 14CO2 relate only to FFCO2 by accounting for non-fossil 14CO2 fluxes. The results confirm that 14CO2 data are useful to separate FFCO2 from the signal of natural fluxes at sites close to large emission regions, making 2-week mean 14CO2 data more efficient than daily CO2 data for estimating the emissions.

This study is an investigation of the timing of extinction of late Pleistocene, large bodied mammalian herbivores (megafauna) and of the environment in which they lived. The demise of the megafauna near the end of the Pleistocene remains unexplained. Owing to potential human involvement in the extinctions, archaeologists have been particularly concerned to understand the causes for faunal losses. Our current lack of understanding of the timing and the causes of the extinctions in North America may result from a deficiency in understanding the histories of each individual species of extinct animal on a local level. Detailed regional chronologies of fauna are necessary for comparison with paleoenvironmental and archaeological data to help sort out causes for extinction. The Willamette Valley of western Oregon has long been noted for finds of megafauna, though records have not been synthesized since the early 20th century and these materials have remained largely unstudied. In this thesis, I first create a catalog of extinct megafauna recovered from the Willamette Valley. Next, using material from the northern valley, I employ AMS radiocarbon dating, stable isotope δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N analyses, and gross inferences based on the dietary specializations and habitat preferences of taxa in order to reconstruct environments and to develop a local chronology of events that is then arrayed against archaeological and paleoenvironmental data. The results of this study indicate that megafaunal populations in the northern Willamette Valley were contemporaneous with the earliest known human populations of the Pacific Northwest, as well as later populations associated with the Clovis Paleoindian Horizon. Consistent with the overkill hypothesis, radiocarbon ages span the length of the Clovis window, but no ages are younger than Clovis. Moreover, all radiocarbon ages are older than or contemporaneous to the onset of the Younger Dryas Stadial. No age ranges fall exclusively within the Younger Dryas. Comparison of megafaunal ages and paleoenvironmental records support the view that climate change contributed to local animal population declines. Prior to ~13,000 cal BP, the Willamette Valley was an open environment; herbivores mainly consumed C₃ vegetation. The timing of the loss of megafauna coincides with increased forested conditions as indicated by regional paleoenvironmental reconstruction. As the timing of megafaunal decline correlates with Clovis, the onset of the Younger Dryas, and increased forested conditions, it is not possible with the data currently available to distinguish the cause of extinction in the Willamette Valley. The age ranges of the fauna coupled with taphonomic and geologic context indicate that the fauna are autochthonous to the Willamette Valley; they do not represent ice rafted carcasses or isolated skeletal elements transported from elsewhere during late Pleistocene glacial outburst floods.

This thesis establishes the earliest appearance of ground slate points at 50 locations throughout the Northwest Coast of North America. Ground slate points are a tool common among maritime hunter-gatherers, but rare among hunter-gatherers who utilize terrestrial subsistence strategies; ground slate points are considered one of the archaeological hallmarks of mid-to-late Holocene Northwest Coast peoples. The appearance of ground slate points in the archaeological record is frequently marked by a concurrent decline in the prevalence of flaked stone points, a phenomenon often referred to as "the ground slate transition." Until now, the specific timing of the appearance of these tools has been ill-defined, and a number of competing theories have arisen to explain the apparent preference for ground slate points over flaked points by prehistoric peoples. By drawing upon a sample of 94 artifact assemblages from 50 sites in Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington, I have constructed a database of artifacts counts, provenience information, and radiocarbon dates which allows for inter-site comparisons of the earliest appearance of the technology. My research has identified a general north to south trend in the appearance of slate points; which begin to appear in the archaeological record around 6,300 cal BP in southeast Alaska, to 2,900 cal BP in Puget Sound. There are notable exceptions to this pattern, however. Given that these data are drawn from both cultural resource management reports and academic literature, I have qualified these findings by addressing some of the common problems of making inter-site comparisons, such as the comparability of radiometric dates, which I address by undertaking a radiocarbon hygiene program. The chronology constructed here provides an important tool for evaluating theories about the ground slate transition, and thereby aiding in untangling the link between aquatic subsistence strategies and technological decision making.

Thesis (M.S.)--Joint Program in Oceanography and Oceanographic Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), June 1996. / "May 1996." / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-68). / This thesis details two years of research conducted with the guidance and support of three advisors: Dr. J. K. Whelan, Dr. J. S. Seewald and Dr. T. I. Eglinton. Each of the three chapters represents a different, self-contained research project. All of the projects are related to the organic geochemistry of marine sediments, however, this is a fairly encompassing area of study. Chapters 1 and 2 stem from the same experimental study -- the use of hydrous-pyrolysis to investigate mechanisms leading to the production of petroleum-related products during kerogen maturation. Chapter 3, on the other hand, utilizes a recently developed technique of isolating and AMS-14C dating individual compounds from complex sedimentary organic mixtures. The samples used in each investigation came from all over the world. The first two chapters utilize ancient marine sediment samples obtained from an outcrop in California (Chpts. 1 and 2) and from a well in Alabama (Chpt. 2). In contrast, recent marine sediment samples were obtained from the Arabian and Black Seas for the third chapter. Several preparative and analytical methods are common to all three studies. Nevertheless, each employ techniques totally unique from one another and from previous investigations. In Chapter 1, for example, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XANES) is used to determine the speciation of organic sulfur present in kerogen, bitumen, and bulk sediment samples. While Chapter 3 represents the first study in which the "4C ages of individual, known hydrocarbon biomarkers are determined after isolation by Preparative Capillary Gas Chromatography (PCGC). The insights gained by these investigations are discussed in detail in the following chapters. The common thread between the three chapters is that the source of organic matter, the rate at which it is delivered to marine sediments and the depositional environment, all set the stage for kerogen formation and eventual petroleum generation. / by Bryan C. Benitez-Nelson. / M.S.

No description available.

In addition to a loss of potential revenues from Utah's $393 million sport fishing industry, the state expends millions of dollars every year on costs associated with whirling disease mitigation and prevention. A state fish hatchery at Midway, Utah was closed when the shallow unconfined aquifer being used for fish culture by spring discharge was deemed to be contaminated by whirling disease. An alternative water source may exist in a confined aquifer below this contaminated unconfined aquifer. However, the complex hydrostratigraphy presents a challenge in determining if this source is a viable resource for fish culture. Geological, physical, chemical, geophysical, and isotopic data were combined to create a conceptual model of the groundwater flow at the site and to determine the interactions this confined aquifer may have with the contaminated aquifer. This model divides groundwater at the hatchery into a shallow unconfined system, an upper confined system, and a lower confined system. The shallow unconfined system is characterized by a water table ~1m below ground surface, several active springs, fast travel times, modern water mixed with ancient hydrothermal water, relatively high TDS, and relatively enriched isotopic values. The confined aquifers have a smaller hydrothermal component, relatively depleted isotopic values, lower TDS, and modern recharge components. Two orthogonal shallow high-resolution seismic reflection profiles indicate substantial heterogeneity in the subsurface at the level of the confined systems at the hatchery. Several north-south trending normal discontinuities were interpreted as possible faults from the seismic profile oriented as a dip line, whereas the strike profile shows discontinuous layering without noticeable faulting. A well log profile for the site shows discontinuous tufa layers amid heterogeneous alluvium material. These tufa layers separate upward leaking confined aquifers from the unconfined system. It is only through the integration of several methods that such mixed systems, can be understood. In this study, the lower confined aquifer was found to be a sufficient and safe resource through the integration of numerous methods.

No description available.

第23回名古屋大学年代測定総合研究センターシンポジウム平成22(2010)年度報告

Due to the nature of war, persons are killed with various types of weapons. Throughout the history of humanity, weapons were used in this regard and these weapons left injuries on the victims that are distinguishable. The type of force conveyed by the ancient weapons effected injuries that enable modern-day bioarchaeologists to extrapolate which weapons caused which injuries. The Assyrians depicted their wars and battles on reliefs. An analysis of these depictions, with an extrapolation of the lesions expected in skeletal remains, could contribute to better understanding of the strategies of war in ancient times. This dissertation will discuss how the evaluation of human remains in comparison to Assyrian reliefs may contribute to the chronological knowledge of war and warfare in the Iron Age Ancient Near East – especially at Lachish. A discourse of the approaches available to researchers regarding access to data in the forensic bioarchaeological field will be presented. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / M.A. (Biblical Archaeology)

The history of death is entangled with the history of changing social values, meaning that a shift in attitudes to death will be consistent with changes in a society’s world view. Late Mesolithic shell middens in the Tagus and Sado valleys, Portugal, constitute some of the largest and earliest burial grounds known, arranged and maintained by people with a hunting, fishing, and foraging lifestyle, c 6000–5000 cal BCE. These sites have been interpreted in the light of economic and environmental processes as territorial claims to establish control over limited resources. This approach does not explain the significance of the frequent disposal of the dead in neighbouring burial grounds, and how these places were meaningful and socially recognized. The aim of this dissertation is to answer these questions through the detailed analysis of museum collections of human burials from these sites, excavated between the late nineteenth century and the 1960s. I examine the burial activity of the last hunter-gatherers of the south-western Iberian Peninsula from an archaeological perspective, and explain the burial phenomenon through the lens of historical and humanist approaches to death and hunter-gatherers, on the basis of theoretical concepts of social memory, place, mortuary ritual practice, and historical processes. Human burials are investigated in terms of time and practice based on the application of three methods: radiocarbon dating and Bayesian analysis to define the chronological framework of the burial activity at each site and valley; stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen aimed at defining the burial populations by the identification of dietary choices; and archaeothanatology to reconstruct and define central practices in the treatment of the dead. This dissertation provides new perspectives on the role and relevance of the shell middens in the Tagus and Sado valleys. Hunter-gatherers frequenting these sites were bound by shared social practices, which included the formation and maintenance of burial grounds, as a primary means of history making. Death rituals played a central role in the life of these hunter-gatherers in developing a sense of community, as well as maintaining social ties in both life and death.