Thesis--Uppsala. / "Särtryck ur Norrländskt Handbibliotek 7." Includes bibliographical references (p. [418]-426).

Thesis - University of Lund. / Bibliography: p. 8.

The main purpose of this study is to reconstruct the Post Glacial vegetational and climatic changes indicated by the pollen grains and spores preserved in the Camosun peat bog. Utilizing this knowledge an attempt is made to define the approximate age of the earliest microfossil deposits of this bog by comparison of the results with those of Hansen (1947). A single sample core was taken from the Camosun bog. The core was divided into ten centimetre channel specimens, each of which was macerated using a new technique. The macerated material, including the microfossils were mounted on slides, and percentage frequencies were obtained for the microfossils in each specimen. The frequency results were interpreted and conclusions drawn on the basis of the kind and number of microfossils recovered. It is concluded that the primary forest was composed mainly of Pinus, which changed later into a forest characterized by Pseudotsuga and Tsuga. Thus the climate appears to have changed from warm and dry to cooler and more moist. The approximate age of the first deposits is defined as ranging between four and six thousand years. Finally various suggestions for future work are presented, including proposals for future studies in the same bog, and methods for the improvement of palynological techniques in general. / Science, Faculty of / Botany, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Oregon, 2001. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-177). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to UO users.

Bogs are sensitive palaeoclimate archives as they rely solely on atmospheric deposition for water and nutrients. A range of biological mire surface wetness proxies have been explored in previous studies, but linking geochemical elements to particular plant macrofossils and a quantitative water table depth reconstruction has not been attempted. The thesis aims to combine biological and geochemical data to evaluate the potential of these proxies when combined and to test the applicability of halogens as a palaeoclimate proxy. To do so, records of plant macrofossils, testate amoebae and geochemistry were reconstructed then ordinated from three bogs (Tyndrain, Wales; Raeburn Flow, Scotland; Annaholty, Ireland) along the western seaboard of the North Atlantic. Additionally, lead enrichment (Pb EF) and the pattern of lithogenic elements were measured to infer phases of anthropogenic activity. A testate amoebae based transfer function, used to identify water table changes, suggests regional climatic variability with only the ‘2650 BP wet shift' identifiable at all three sites. RBF and ANN show several shifts between wetter and drier conditions which appear to be in antiphase. In contrast, at TYN only drier phases were recorded during the Dark Ages and the Little Ice Age. No direct link between the halogens and mire surface wetness based on the testate amoebae was detectable. Factor analyses by principal components run on the halogens combined with Sphagnum mosses, monocots, unidentified organic matter, lithogenic elements and mire surface wetness to identify underlying factors driving their distribution, suggest inter-­‐site variability. It was not possible to identify a principal sink in terms of a specific moss species with any certainty, although a negative correlation with Sphagnum Section Acutifolia (dry indicator species) was found at ANN. Iodine appears to be more closely associated with the lithogenic elements, while bromine has similarities with both iodine and chlorine. iv The Pb EF results for Raeburn Flow and Annaholty are in agreement with patterns for historical global Pb production (i.e. Roman, Medieval and Industrial period enrichments are identifiable) and evidence for changes in land use. This limits the potential of lithogenic elements as palaeoclimatic indicators. Overall, the halogen pattern is inconclusive and requires further study, although for Annaholty a link between wetter conditions and an increase in halogens can be demonstrated.

The aim of this work was to design long-term monitoring of vegetation and environmental factors which would document the effect of the planned revitalization of Hučina brook floodplain. In order to monitor the dynamics of plant communities the system of permanent plots have been designed and established. Visual estimation of cover or graphical methods were proposed for the monitoring of the development of the moss and herb layers. The method of basal cover is considered best for the monitoring of the development of the tree layer. Mapping of plant communites should be made in the form of direct mapping. The monitored water characteristics should include the groundwater level, water conductivity and pH. Beneficial additional measurement comprise estimation of total NH4+, PO43-, NO32-, SO42-, Mg2+, Ca2+, total Fe, K+, Na+, humic acids and total organic carbon (TOC). The important soil characteristics include actual soil moisture content (Wmom), the maximum capillary capacity (MKK), water-holding capacity (RVK24), bulk density, porosity and soil organic matter. In addition to the monitoring design, this work brings data on vegetation composition gathered by direct mapping and measurement of the breast height diameter of trees.

Human activity has affected metal emissions to the atmosphere on a global scale for several thousand years, resulting in widespread contamination of the environment with toxic heavy metals such as Pb and Hg, thereby threatening both human and environmental health. In recent years ombrotrophic peat bogs have been used to study the changing rates and sources of atmospheric metal deposition, as they receive all their water and nutrients from the atmosphere by dry and wet deposition alone. Cores from such bogs have proved especially useful as archives of atmospheric Pb deposition as Pb is essentially immobile in ombrotrophic peat. The work described in this thesis is primarily concerned with the use of ombrotrophic peat bogs to investigate environmental contamination in Scotland during pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial (i.e. ca. post-1970 A.D.) times. Cores were collected from ombrotrophic peat bogs at four different geographical locations (Carsegowan Moss, SW; Flanders Moss, W Central; The Red Moss of Balerno, E Central; Turclossie Moss, NE) in Scotland. Air-dried peat samples were dry-ashed and dissolved using microwave-assisted HF IHN03 digestion. Elemental concentrations (e.g. AI, As, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, P, Pb, S, Sb, Sc, Se, Ti, V, Y, Zn and Zr) and Pb isotope ratios (e.g. 206PbP07Pb) were determined using ICP-OES and ICP-MS as appropriate. For Hg determination, samples were digested with HN03/H2S04 and then analysed by CV AAS. Certified reference materials (e.g. Ombrotrophic Peat (NIMT/UOE/FM001), Canadian Peat (1878 P), Bush Branches and Leaves (DC73349), Peach Leaves (GBW 08501) and Coal (BCR CRM No. 40 and NBS SRM 1635) were used for quality control purposes. The distribution and behaviour of the potentially toxic trace elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Sb, Se, V and Zn) and of major elements (Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, P and S) within the four ombrotrophic peat bogs was investigated and there was strong evidence that Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, P, S, Se and Zn were mobile in ombrotrophic peat, while As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg (at least during industrial and post-industrial periods), Ni, Sb and V, like Pb, were essentially immobile in ombrotrophic peat. Deposition records of conservative lithogenic elements (e.g. concentrations of AI, Sc, Ti, Y and Zr) that occur predominantly in soil dust were also investigated and the chosen conservative elements Sc, Ti and Zr were used in calculations to estimate anthropogenic enrichments of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb and V in peat bog profiles. 210Pb- and 14C- dated peat cores were used to reconstruct historical records of atmospheric anthropogenic As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb and V deposition (since the pre-Roman (i.e. to ca. 380 B.C.)/Roman period) and atmospheric Hg deposition (since the onset of the industrial period) across Scotland. For Pb, on the basis of Pb isotopic composition (e.g. 206PbP Pb), clear indications of contamination during the preRoman/Roman and Mediaeval periods were attributed to the mining and smelting of Pb ores (from Britain and elsewhere in Europe). During the industrial and post-industrial periods, variations in the relative importance of contributions of anthropogenic Pb from different sources were apparent. From ca. the early 17th century A.D. at three of the peat bog sites, the mining and smelting of indigenous Scottish Pb ores, until the early 20th century A.D., were found to be the most important sources of anthropogenic Pb deposition. In contrast, at the most southerly site (Carsegowan Moss), influences from the use of both British Ph ores and imported Australian Ph ores (in more southern parts of Britain) since the late 19th century A.D. were evident. At each of the sites, the increasing importance of Australian-Ph-influenced car-exhaust emissions from the 1930s to late 1990s A.D., along with significant contributions from coal combustion (until the late 1960s A.D.) was evident. For Sb, in general, similarities between the major trends in the concentration profiles of anthropogenic Sb and Ph suggested common sources of these two elements. Perturbations in the anthropogenic Sb/Pb ratios since ca. 1800 A.D., however, were attributed to temporal variations in the relative importance of atmospheric emissions from different sources such as Ph ore mining/smelting, coal combustion and, in recent decades, automobile-related use of compounds of Ph (in leaded petrol) and of Sb (in brake linings). For Hg, in general, during the industrial and post-industrial periods, coal combustion and waste incineration, respectively, were likely to be the most important sources of Hg. For As, clear indications of contamination during the Mediaeval period were probably attributable to the mining and smelting of Ph and Cu ores, and for As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni and V, during the industrial and post-industrial periods, a variety of sources (e.g. metallurgical activities, coal and oil combustion, use of phosphate fertilisers and waste incineration) were important to varying extents. Also, in recent years, atmospheric Cu emissions from automobile-related use of compounds of Cu (in motor oil, brake linings and tyres) may have been important. Inter-site and inter-elemental comparison of records of atmospheric metal deposition across Scotland indicated that, in general, atmospheric As, Cr, Hg, Ph and Sb deposition was greatest during the industrial period (between the late 1880s and late 1960s A.D.) and atmospheric Cd, Co, Cu, Ni and V deposition was greatest during the industrial and post-industrial periods (between ca. 1900 and the early 2000s A.D.), although increases in As, Co, Cr, Hg, Ph and Sb deposition were earliest (during the late 19th and early 20th century A.D.) at the most southerly site (Carsegowan Moss). During the industrial and post-industrial periods, levels of As, Ph and Cd contamination were generally highest in the south of Scotland, Cu, Co and Sb in south and central Scotland, and Cr, Ni and V in central Scotland. Overall, the existence of a south to north As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Ph, Sb and V pollution gradient in Scotland was evident.

Horizontal and vertical variations of copper, cobalt, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, zinc, organic carbon and pH were studied in a small bog close to a known copper-mineral occurrence in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, British Columbia This bog consists of up to 3 m thickness of moderately decomposed, water saturated, fetid organic material underlain by glacial till that almost completely covers the contact between copper-mineralized Nicola Group volcanic rocks and porphyry dykes. Soils with more than 16% organic carbon and 0.1% Hl-reducible sulphur are enriched in copper, cobalt, nickel, zinc and molybdenum. Sympathetic relationships between nickel and zinc and between cobalt and copper are demonstrated by correlation analysis of metal data. Metals generally increase down organic soil profiles, but fall sharply in the till except at the western end of the bog where small areas of concealed till have up to 0.57<> copper and 100 ppm molybdenum. Iron and manganese are generally higher in the till than in organic soil although these metals are locally very abundant in near surface fibrous organic material. Reducing, subsurface bog waters generally have higher dissolved iron, manganese and organic carbon, but lower copper contents than do surface waters. However, several subsurface water samples from the area underlain by copper-rich till contain up to 1 ppm copper. Copper is also very abundant in springs water flowing from a probable fault zone west of the bog; in seepages draining humic gleysolic soils surrounding the west side of the bog and in acid, semi-stagnant surface water. Small, irregularly shaped grains of pyrite, chalcopyrite, covellite, native copper and framboidal pyrite are scattered throughout the organic soils. Copper sulphide and native copper grains are restricted to two areas at the eastern and western ends of the bog occurring between 1 and 3 m depth. Framboidal pyrite, however, has a wider spatial distribution in organic soils than the copper and copper-iron sulphide mineral grains. Copper and iron are principally derived through oxidation of sulphides,disseminated in the underlying volcanic rocks, by circulating ground water which then discharges into the bog along concealed fault zones. Ground water,- percolating through reduced till beneath organic soils and through humic gleysolic soils,dissolves cobalt, nickel, zinc, manganese, iron and molybdenum which then migrate through the bog as simple ions, complex ions or soluble metal-fulvate complexes. A major proportion of the dissolved copper, cobalt, nickel and zinc is probably immobilized by adsorption and complexing to solid humic and fulvic acid fractions in the soil. Authigenic copper and iron sulphides also form through reaction of metals with sulphide ions produced from biogenic sulphate reduction. Stability relationships between copper and iron minerals indicate that the grain textures reflect changes in Eh, pH, sulphide ion activity, metal ion activity and possibly dissolved organic carbon abundance. Hydrous oxides of iron and possibly manganese form close to the bog surface where metal-rich solutions discharge into the oxidizing environment. Molybdenum is also concentrated in the acid fibrous organic layer due to immobility of the acid molybdenate ion. Abundant copper may be adsorbed from the metal-rich surface water by plants and is then bound to proteins forming the cell-wall membrane. This form of copper is relatively stable and the metal will only be released from the association during advanced organic diagensis. / Science, Faculty of / Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of / Graduate