Mountain centered glaciers have played a major role throughout the last three million years in the Scandinavian mountains. The climatic extremes, like the present warm interglacial or cold glacial maxima, are very short-lived compared to the periods of intermediate climate conditions, characterized by the persistence of mountain based glaciers and ice fields of regional size. These have persisted in the Scandinavian mountains for about 65% of the Quaternary. Mountain based glaciers thus had a profound impact on large-scale geomorphology, which is manifested in large-scale glacial landforms such as fjords, glacial lakes and U-shaped valleys in and close to the mountain range. Through a mapping of glacial landforms in the northern Scandinavian mountain range, in particular a striking set of lateral moraines, this thesis offers new insights into Weichselian stages predating the last glacial maximum. The aerial photograph mapping and field evidence yield evidence that these lateral moraines were overridden by glacier ice subsequent to their formation. The lateral moraines were dated using terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide techniques. Although the terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide signature of the moraines is inconclusive, an early Weichselian age is tentatively suggested through correlations with other landforms and stratigraphical archives in the region. The abundance and coherent spatial pattern of the lateral moraines also allow a spatial reconstruction of this ice field. The ice field was controlled by topography and had nunataks protruding also where it was thickest close to the elevation axis of the Scandinavian mountain range. Outlet glaciers discharged into the Norwegian fjords and major valleys in Sweden. The process by which mountain based glaciers grow into an ice sheet is a matter of debate. In this thesis, a feedback mechanism between debris on the ice surface and ice sheet growth is presented. In essence, the growth of glaciers and ice sheets may be accelerated by an abundance of debris in their ablation areas. This may occur when the debris cover on the glacier surface inhibits ablation, effectively increasing the glaciers mass balance. It is thus possible that a dirty ablation area may cause the glacier to advance further than a clean glacier under similar conditions. An ice free period of significant length allows soil production through weathering, frost shattering, and slope processes. As glaciers advance through this assemblage of sediments, significant amounts of debris end up on the surface due to both mass wastage and subglacial entrainment. Evidence that this chain of events may occur, is given by large expanses of hummocky moraine (local name Veiki moraine) in the northern Swedish lowlands. Because the Veiki moraine has been correlated with the first Weichselian advance following the Eemian, it implies a heavily debris charged ice sheet emanating from the mountain range and terminating in a stagnant fashion in the lowlands.

The recent spate of floods in many parts of Britain has stimulated substantial interest among scientists, policy makers and the public concerning contemporary trends in flood frequency and magnitude, in particular questioning whether these events exceed historical extremes. However, detecting a clear signal of recent intensification in the flood regime is hampered by the relatively short timescales covered by meteorological and river flow data. Lake sediment sequences have proven a valuable archive of historical flooding over centennial and millennial timescales elsewhere in Europe and globally, but this thesis presents one of the first attempts to extract flood histories from the sediments of lakes in Britain. It adapts a detailed field and lab-based approach to test the hypothesis that discrete layers can be distinguished from long sediment cores (1 – 3.5 m) that were probably deposited by high-magnitude floods based on their particle size and geochemical signatures. The programme of research was developed and applied at Brotherswater (River Eden catchment), northwest England, and then further tested at the Loch of the Lowes (River Tweed catchment), southern Scotland. A detailed literature review led to the creation of a conceptual model to guide field site selection, based on the catchment-lake configuration and hydrological regime of individual sites. Characteristics deemed critical include a high catchment:lake area ratio to maximise sediment availability, limited pre-lake sediment storage and an effective sediment conveyor, as well as simple lake bathymetry. The viability of µXRF scanning to characterise flood laminations within wet sediment cores was assessed in detail. A new method of calibrating geochemical concentrations where the water content varies substantially (50%) down-core based on x-ray scattering is described, and the first inter-comparison between different core scanners is performed. The analytical resolution of the ITRAX can reveal laminations too thin to manually sub-sample but the dataset can be noiser, especially after correction to the dry-mass basis. Caution should be used when interpreting ITRAX data at the sub -mm scale to ensure peaks and troughs represent real changes in sediment composition. Inspection of multiple sediment cores extracted along a delta-proximal to distal transect in Brotherswater, coupled with high-resolution (0.5 cm) particle size measurements revealed silt-dominated (90th percentile grain size (P90) ~ 16 µm) sediment matrices frequently punctuated by coarser-grained sand layers (P90 >100 µm) that are lighter in colour. These layers cannot be easily characterised geochemically, most likely due to the volcanic bedrock in the catchment, but constitute the stratigraphical signature diagnostic of repeated high-magnitude floods for the River Eden catchment. Sediment supply varied substantially through the late-Holocene at Brotherswater, complicating the particle size record. A normalisation approach was tested to remove the background trend and identify notable particle size peaks (>1 standard deviation from the longer-term moving window) and the similar profiles produced for three cores from Brotherswater suggests the technique has been able to produce a record of major floods in the Patterdale Valley spanning the last 1500 years. Geochemical profiles at Brotherswater are dominated by enhanced metal deposition during the last 300 years, especially Pb, which mimics and could be used as a surrogate for production data for the nearby Hartsop Hall Lead Mine. The down-core pattern of Pb deposition is strongly reproducible in twelve cores extracted from different parts of the lake and reveals reveals the pattern, rate and controls over sediment deposition, with post-1860 accumulation rates four times greater near the inflow. A coherent chronology that integrates short-lived radionuclide dating (137Cs, 241Am, 210Pb), 14C ages and the geochemical contaminant markers for Brotherswater reveals that the last millennium was characterised by flood-rich and flood-poor phases generally 50 – 100 years in duration. The timing of these phases is significantly correlated with annual precipitation reconstructions, indicating a link between rainfall and flood generation. Some temporal correspondence between flood occurrence and phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation is observed but the relationship frequently breaks down. At Brotherswater, flood deposits have been most frequent during the 20th Century but isolating the influence of human activity on the sediment record is challenging. Sixteen months of process monitoring at Brotherswater using sediment traps confirms the mechanics of sediment delivery and shows a strong continuity of current process to the late-Holocene sediment record. Particle size signatures were identified for a major winter flood, low-flow conditions and the regular flushing of the sediment system by successive low magnitude flood flows. Scaling the sediment trap data to an equivalent annual accumulation show how event delivery of coarse material may be masked by more regular fine-grained sedimentation through the year. The revealed anatomy of the annual sediment accumulation cycle has significant implications for palaeoflood research with process understanding at each site clearly a critical precursor to any sediment-based flood investigation. Laminations interpreted as palaeoflood deposits in the Loch of the Lowes sequence also exhibit prominent peaks in particle size but differ in colour and geochemical composition from Brotherswater, which highlights the importance of developing site-specific protocols for interpreting the sediment record. The coarse bands are much darker in colour and the Zr/Rb ratio appears to be an effective proxy of particle size in this case, with higher values reflecting coarser material. Preliminary chronological information suggest a finely-resolved palaeoflood record has been recovered extending approximately 350 years at the delta-proximal zone and perhaps twice as long in the central basin. The thesis demonstrates that particle size data, supported by appropriately calibrated geochemical analyses, can generate high-resolution flood stratigraphies from upland UK lakes and these span millennia, extending our understanding of regional flood frequency.

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Esta pesquisa busca analisar a filosofia crítica kantiana com dois objetivos básicos: identificar sua articulação com a visão de geografia promovida por Kant através do seu curso de geografia física e determinar os aspectos positivos e negativos que ela oferece para a fundamentação epistemológica do atual paradigma geográfico da paisagem. A hipótese inicial foi que a filosofia crítica poderia embasar a discussão a respeito da fundamentação epistemológica de uma teoria geográfica da paisagem. Ela encontrou que o filósofo teve um intenso relacionamento com o conhecimento geográfico do seu tempo, o qual contribuiu para a formulação de sua filosofia crítica, já que forneceu a fundamentação empírica para suas reflexões. O debate filosófico intenso que Kant provocou, todavia, não se repetiu no campo geográfico. Sua leitura geográfica da paisagem procurava relacionar os elementos no espaço, como as características dos habitantes e seus climas. Não obstante, ela era cheia de limitações devido a sua preferência por uma abordagem universalista e normativa das sociedades, como os pesquisadores fazem no campo das ciências naturais. Sua concepção histórica da sociedade não era suficiente. Esta pesquisa defende que o resultado do método de abordagem geográfica de Kant era falho em alguns aspectos. Ele ignorava o contexto histórico no qual as pessoas viviam e fornecia uma educação geográfica falha, a qual promovia certo determinismo e intolerância racial, como seu curso de geografia física e outros trabalhos indicam. O filósofo reservou um lugar para a geografia em sua arquitetônica do conhecimento, mas não procurou desenvolvê-la ao nível científico. Apesar disso, sua filosofia influenciou outros personagens que viriam a contribuir ativamente para o desenvolvimento da geografia científica e a formação do paradigma geográfico da paisagem. É importante perceber que sua filosofia crítica tem importantes reflexões sobre as características do conhecimento científico e a posição do homem na natureza. Essas questões são relevantes para auxiliar na análise epistemológica da geografia. Este trabalho demonstra ainda que a filosofia crítica kantiana pode contribuir mesmo atualmente para o desenvolvimento do paradigma geográfico da paisagem em seu campo epistemológico, não obstante as limitações do filósofo como um geógrafo (ou mesmo como um cientista social). Esta contribuição pode ser positiva (pela apropriação de alguns raciocínios por ela oferecidos) e negativa (encontrando seus erros e buscando superá-los). / This research seeks to analyze the Kantian critical philosophy with two basic aims: to identify its articulation with the view of geography Kant promoted through his course of physical geography and to determine the positive and negative aspects it offers to the epistemological foundation of the current geographical landscape paradigm. The initial hypothesis was that the critical philosophy could base the discussion about the epistemological foundation of a geographical landscape theory. It found that the philosopher had an intense relationship with the geographical knowledge of his time, which contributed to the formulation of his critical philosophy, since it provided empirical foundation for his reflections. The intense philosophical debate Kant provoked, however, did not repeat in the geographical realm. His geographical reading of landscape sought to relate elements on the space like the characteristics of the inhabitants and their climates. Nevertheless, it was also full of limitations due to his preference for a Universalist and normative approach of societies, as researchers do in the field of natural sciences. His historical conception of society was not enough. This research defends that the result of Kant´s geographical method of approach was defective in some aspects. It ignored the historical context that people lived and provided a flawed geographical education, which promoted even certain determinism and racial intolerance, as his course of physical geography and other work sindicate. The philosopher reserved a place for geography in his architectonic of knowledge, but did not seek to develop it to the scientific level. Nonetheless, his philosophy influenced other characters that would actively contribute to the development of scientific geography and with the formation of the geographical landscape paradigm. It is important to realize that his critical philosophy has important reflections about the characteristics of the scientific knowledge and the position of man in nature. These issues are relevant to assist in the epistemological analysis of geography. This work still demonstrates that the Kantian critical philosophy can contribute even today to the development of the geographical landscape paradigm in its epistemological field, despite the limitations of the philosopher as a geographer (or even as a social scientist). This contribution can be positive (by the appropriation of some reasoningsit offers), and negative (finding its mistakes and searching to overcomethem).

Esta dissertação discute o verbete Geografia Física, elaborado por Nicolas Desmarest e publicado na Encyclopédie de Diderot e DAlembert em 1757, o qual apresenta uma proposta de se fazer e pensar Geografia diferente das interpretações comumente aceitas pela História da Geografia para o pensamento geográfico do século XVIII. Elaborado pelo homem de letras Nicolas Desmarest, no seio do Iluminismo e do enciclopedismo francês, este trabalho analisou o verbete no contexto deste movimento e das tradições científicas que teorizaram a Terra e seus fenômenos na primeira metade do século XVIII. Diante da discussão realizada, constatou-se a existência de uma legítima Geografia teorizada pelas Luzes e propagada pela Encyclopédie, bem como o papel central assumido por Nicolas Desmarest para o desenvolvimento deste saber. Além disso, revelou a existência de uma importante controvérsia científica entre a Geografia Física e a Teoria da Terra, a qual foi debatida por Nicolas Desmarest e Buffon no limiar do nascimento das chamadas Geologia e Geografia modernas. / In this work we discuss about the article Physical Geography, that was created by Nicolas Desmarest and published in the Diderot and DAlemberts Encyclopedia in 1757. The article introduced a proposal to do and to think Geography different from what is commonly accepted by the History of Geography to the 18th century geographical thought. It was elaborated by the man of letters Nicolas Desmarest, in the middle of the Enlightenment and the French encyclopedism. This work analyzed the article in the context of this movement and in the scientific traditions that theorized the Earth and its phenomena in the 18th century first half. In front of this discussion, we noted the existence of a genuine Geography theorized by the Enlightenment and propagated by the Encyclopedia, which Nicolas Desmarest assumed a central position to the development of this knowledge. Furthermore, this work revealed an important scientific controversy between the Physical Geography and the Theory of the Earth that was discussed by Nicolas Desmarest and Buffon, in the dawn of so-called modern Geology and Geography.

Electromagnetic (EM) techniques are used to locate and map archaeological features through differences in soil EM properties (linked to geotechnical properties and climatic conditions), but these have poorly understood seasonality to their response, and poor performance on certain (especially fine grained) soils. Customised Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) monitoring stations were used to collect hourly apparent relative dielectric permittivity (ARDP), bulk electrical conductivity (BEC) and temperature data from archaeological features and the surrounding soil matrix (SSM) for four sites over a 16-23 month period. Soil samples were taken to study links between geotechnical and EM properties in the laboratory. Differences in BEC-VWC (volumetric water content) and ARDP-VWC relationships between fine and coarse grained soils were found, but differences between archaeological and SSM soils were small, confirming field measured contrasts predominantly result from VWC differences. ARDP-VWC relationships were affected by the EM loss tangent rather than just bound water as previously suggested, making BEC and magnetic properties of the soil significant. Both archaeological and SSM soils showed similar trends in recorded values and infiltration responses after rainfall events, and differences were predominantly due to water holding capacities of the soils and variations in drying patterns which were tied to the properties of the soil, especially porosity, clay content and mineralogy. Whilst coarse grained soils showed good EM contrasts throughout, smaller contrasts were found on fine grained soils, with optimum times for detection found during dry conditions when VWC differences were at a maximum and during warm periods where BEC differences were accentuated.

There is a requirement to predict the spatial variation of particle dry deposition following a nuclear accident. The interaction of landscape features, atmospheric flow and particle dry deposition has been investigated with this in mind. Wind tunnel studies have been used with computational fluid dynamics to predict the deposition rate relative to a flat landscape. Good quantitative agreement was seen for this relative deposition rate. Landscape shapes showed significant effects on deposition rate, increasing it by more than two in some cases, over limited areas. The effect of turbulence intensity, in the absence of landscape features, was also studied and a weak relationship to dry deposition was observed. Computational fluid dynamics methods used in wind tunnel comparisons were extended to a wide range of landscape cases. Deposition rates varied spatially around the landscape features. In general, for hills and ridges, deposition was seen to increase on the windward face, decrease on the leeward face and near wake, and increase in the further wake, before returning to the flat case value. The computational results were applied to a real landscape with the use of a customised geographical information system. Good general agreement was seen when compared with a test case.

A GIS-based method has been applied for assessing the spatial soil erosion risk and sediment yield in Mae Rim watershed, Northwest Thailand. The gross soil erosion in each watershed cell was estimated using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) by thoroughly determining its various parameters. RUSLE results showed mean annual soil loss rate of 31 tonnes ha-1 yr-1, while the mean annual suspended sediment yield was 7.4 tonnes ha-1 yr-1. From the results of the spatial analysis between controlling factors and soil erosion, it indicated that bare land, field crop land and high steep slope were linked to extreme soil erosion (> 150 tonnes ha-1 yr-1). With respect to soil erosion under land use and rainfall change, it was revealed that the conversion from deciduous forest to field crop area has very serious implications for soil erosion in the Mae Rim watershed. Indeed, transition from forest to agriculture may lead to erosion increase despite reduced rainfall. The results obtained from analysing scenario sensitivities identify synergistic effects on soil erosion hazard if bare land, field crop land and rainfall erosivity are increased simultaneously in the future.

Recent debate has focused on the role of state spatial approaches to the governance of an increasingly networked and fluid economy. This has seen transitions in both the scale of practise, focused on meso-level spaces, and the form of scalar fix, progressing from region to city-region and Functional Economic Area. As theories of spatial economy argue an increasingly dispersed mode of practise, integrated into global exchanges, state spatiality has responded through spatial reform to capitalise on this networked model. This study seeks to understand the link between spaces of economic governance, the formal spaces in which meso-level policy is pursued, and spaces of economic production, created by flows of firm transaction and exchange. Situated in the Southern Staffordshire area of the English Midlands, it considers how these forms of space are constructed, interpreted and integrated through articulations and practices of state spatial policy. Using a relational framework, interpreting space as a dynamic phenomenon, it considers the critical factors linking spaces of economic production and economic governance and the influence of ongoing rescaling tendencies within state and industrial strategy. It proposes whilst the sub-national has been debated as a critical point of convergence for these separate spatial articulations, this is highly selective through its capacity to interpret spatial economy and privileging of specific spatial and sectoral interests.

In this thesis, we link the impacts of manufacturing activities to geographical location and examine the endogenous and exogenous factors that have a significant impact on economic performance of the manufacturing in mainland China. We demonstrate the geographic distribution through employing the agglomeration index and study the patterns of industrial agglomeration in mainland China and our case city. Moreover, we also examine the impacts of agglomeration by using various variables including ownership and export ratio. A comparison between the agglomeration results of mainland China and Tianjin which is our case city is also applied and an appropriate explanation is given. In the study from the impacts of natural disasters on manufacturing productions, we employ the wind-field model to estimate wind speed together with other weather indicators who have potential damages to the local economy. Our results show the different patterns of industrial agglomeration when make comparisons among mainland China, Tianjin and other developed countries. In the determinants of agglomeration analysis, ownership together with export and other variables show a significant impact on the industrial agglomeration. Typhoon, in general, has negative and short term impacts on the local economy. More labour and lower wage help to recover the production quickly in the coastal regions in China.