Triops cancriformis (Crustacea: Notostraca) occurs in ephemeral habitats like rain pools or floodplain pools distributed over a large geographical range. The named habitats are disturbed by human impacts and, consequently, T. cancriformis is endangered throughout its distribution range. In the present thesis the populated habitats and threats are characterised and further morphological and genetic variations detected among and within European populations are reported. On the basis of recent investigations it is shown that T. cancriformis subspecies separation is hampered by an individual variability which points to the necessity of species revision. The analysis of mitochondrial gene sequence data suggests that the species has colonised most of Europe very recently. The advantage of a complex reproductive strategy in T. cancriformis in this process is discussed. The population structure resolved with nuclear DNA markers highlights that there is low allelic diversity among and within populations compared to other Branchiopoda (Daphnia). By means of the present study it can be shown that habitat conservation is most important to protect T. cancriformis.

From the Proceedings of the 1972 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - May 5-6, 1972, Prescott, Arizona / A critique of statistical properties of monthly flows on an ephemeral stream in Arizona is given. A subjective procedure, justified for managerial purposes not concerned with the variability of flow within the month, is proposed for sequential generation of monthly flow data. Ephemeral flows should be modeled by starting with at least historical daily flows for more meaningful monthly flow models. Stochastic properties of monthly streamflows and state transition probabilities are reviewed with regard to ephemeral streams. A flow chart for a streamflow model geared to digital computers, with a simulation of streamflow subroutine, is developed. Meaningful monthly flow models could serve as a check on alternative models (subjective matrix, lag-one auto regressive, harmonic, bivariate normal, bivariate log-normal models). Rules and guidelines are presented in developing meaningful probability matrices.

From the Proceedings of the 1978 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 14-15, 1978, Flagstaff, Arizona / Discontinuous water quality data for the San Pedro River in southeastern Arizona is analyzed to illustrate the nature of water quality problems of ephemeral flow. The San Pedro drains a northerly-trending basin of 4,483 square miles, of which 696 are in Mexico and 3,787 in Arizona. Several questions arise in the consideration of a rational management plan: what is the necessity for protection of ephemeral flow quality when the channel consists of a dry wash much of the year, where there is little aquatic or wildlife to protect, and where occasional flow during flood conditions is put to little use by humans; and where and how do we use the ephemeral flow it is indeed decided to utilize it. Such questions as these form the basis of this discussion in an effort to bring out the point that water quality problems of ephemeral flow in arid areas differ from those in the humid zone. It is argued that in between the extremes of prohibiting or treating all runoff or eliminating all sources of pollution, there is actually little that can be done to control all sources of pollution in this typical arid stream, despite the fact that standards, for the most part unattainable, have been set for this flow.

A presente pesquisa está centrada na interpretação das análises de palinofácies e de geoquímica orgânica realizadas em três perfis sedimentares (T1, T2 e T3) de zonas úmidas continentais influenciadas por diferentes regimes hidrológicos na faixa climática subtropical durante o Quaternário no sul do Brasil (Estado do Rio Grande do Sul) com o principal objetivo de demonstrar a utilidade dessas análises para a obtenção de dados paleoclimáticos e paleoambientais. A análise de palinofácies realizada nos testemunhos T1-Mina do Museu (7.963 anos antes do presente - AP) e T2-Mina Modelo (9.542 anos AP), provenientes de Ametista do Sul, e no testemunho T3-Iraí (10.586 anos BP), proveniente de Iraí, revelou um amplo domínio do Grupo Fitoclasto. Os Palinomorfos são o segundo grupo dominante e o Grupo Produto Amorfo é o menos abundante. Esse tipo de análise foi particularmente eficaz para as interpretações dos eventos de precipitação e de sucessão vegetacional em Ametista do Sul, porque o isolamento hidrológico desses alagados efêmeros de altitude torna-os muito sensíveis aos efeitos climáticos. As flutuações na profundidade da água foram inferidas a partir das concentrações dos elementos autóctones (especialmente Botryoccocus e outras algas), que predominam nos intervalos basais e tendem a diminuir progressivamente em direção ao topo. Pseudoschizaea, por sua vez, parece atuar como um marcador biológico de intervalos de transição. O aumento da frequência e da variedade dos esporomorfos terrestres nas camadas mais superficiais indica um aumento da diversidade vegetal e está relacionado ao processo de evolução sucessional da área. Para Ametista do Sul, os resultados permitiram determinar que as oscilações nos padrões de umidade resultaram em um padrão intermitente do nível de água dos alagados, o qual pode representar um reflexo de mudanças climáticas regionais ou, talvez, de mudanças em escala global relacionadas com os “eventos Bond”. Em Iraí, a fração orgânica melhor representada é constituída por elementos derivados de plantas terrestres, uma característica típica da matéria orgânica preservada em turfeiras Esse tipo de ambiente úmido nunca chegou a secar completamente, uma vez que os teores de umidade eram subsidiados por diferentes fatores, tais como o nível do lençol freático, as inundações do Rio Uruguai e a água da chuva. A ocorrência muito baixa de algas, contudo, indica que a profundidade da água não era suficientemente espessa para o desenvolvimento da biomassa algálica, embora o ambiente anóxico e redutor também possa ter limitado a expansão deste grupo. Os parâmetros organogeoquímicos foram particularmente úteis para interpretações de eventos de anoxia e de mudanças nos regimes hidrológicos dos sedimentos turfosos. Os teores de carbono orgânico total (COT) e enxofre total (ST) são mais altos na porção basal do perfil, diminuindo em direção ao topo, e podem estar relacionados ao regime hidrológico ou à interferência antrópica na dinâmica da paisagem. O teor anômalo de enxofre observado em uma das amostras de Iraí pode ser devido a uma fonte externa e talvez relacionado com a presença de fontes termais na região. A presente pesquisa tem potencial como uma referência moderna capaz de ser aplicada na reconstrução de paleoambientes continentais análogos associados a regiões alagadas em cinturões subtropicais. / The present research focuses on the interpretation of the palynofacies and organic geochemistry analyses performed on three sedimentary cores (T1, T2 and T3) from continental wetlands influenced by different hydrological regimes in the sub-tropical climatic belt during the Quaternary in southern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul State), with the main goal of demonstrating the usefulness of these analyses for obtaining paleoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental data. Palynofacies analysis was performed for the cores T1-Mina do Museu (7963 years before present - BP) and T2-Mina Modelo (9542 years BP) from Ametista do Sul, and for the T3-Iraí core (10586 years BP) from Iraí and revealed a high dominance of the Phytoclast Group. The Palynomorph is the second most dominant group and the Amorphous Product is the least abundant group. This kind of analysis was particularly effective in the interpretations of rainfall events and vegetation succession in Ametista do Sul, because the hydrological isolation renders the ephemeral ponds at high altitude highly sensitive to climatic effects. The fluctuations in the water depth are inferred from the concentration of the autochthonous elements (especially Botryoccocus and other algae), which predominate in the basal intervals and tend to decrease progressively towards the top. Pseudoschizaea, in its turn, appears to act as a biological marker for transitional intervals. The increasing frequency and variety of the terrestrial sporomorphs in the topmost interval indicate an increased vegetal diversity and is most likely related to the process of successional evolution of the area. For Ametista do Sul, the results allowed to determine that the oscillations in the moisture pattern resulted in the intermittent feature of pond water level and this may reflect the regional climate changes or perhaps the global scale changes related to the Bond events. In Iraí, the better represented organic fraction consists of elements derived from terrestrial plants, a characteristic typical of organic matter preserved in peat bogs. This kind of wetland never dried completely, since the moisture content was subsidized by different factors, such as the groundwater, the flood events of the Uruguay River and the rainfall water. The very low occurrence of algae, however, indicates that the water was not deep enough for the development of algalic biomass, although the anoxic, reducing environment may also have limited the expansion of this group. The organic geochemistry parameters were particularly useful for interpretation of anoxia events and changes of hydrological regimes in the peaty sediment. The total organic carbon (TOC) and the total sulfur (TS) contents are higher in the basal portion of the profile, decreasing towards the top and could be linked to hydrologic regimes or to anthropogenic interference in the landscape dynamics. The anomalous TS content observed in one of the samples from Iraí might be due to an external source and perhaps related to the presence of thermal springs in the region. The present research has potential as a modern reference that can be applied in the reconstruction of past analogous continental paleoenvironments associated to wetland areas in subtropical belts.

Cette thèse porte sur la Conception Centrée Valeur (CCV) proposé par Gilbert Cockton dans le but d'aller au-delà de l'utilisabilité dans les systèmes interactifs. L'auteur propose un canevas pour la mise en oeuvre de la CCV. Cependant, les opérationnalisations restent partielles et sont réalisées par lui-même, d'où un manque de recul de la communauté vis-à-vis de la méthode. La thèse relate la conception centrée valeur de Cocoon, un système d'information mobile et sensible au contexte. Elle apporte des contributions à la fois sur les plans conceptuel et méthodologique. D'un point de vue conceptuel, elle introduit la taxonomie PIPE (Personnelle, Impersonnelle, Pérenne, Éphémère) pour la caractérisation de l'information. En outre, elle montre que les systèmes existants ne couvrent pas PIPE : ils sont surtout focalisés sur les informations impersonnelles. Alors, la thèse propose le concept d'arbre de vie et Cocoon. D'un point de vue méthodologique, la thèse apporte une compréhension meilleure de la notion de valeur. En outre, elle fournit un retour d'expérience sur la CCV accompagné de remarques et recommandations pour des mises en oeuvres futures plus performantes. Enfin, elle propose un canevas pour la construction des cartes de valeur et une stratégie pour l'estimation de la valeur. / The thesis deals with Worth Centered Design (WCD) introduced by Gilbert Cockton. The author also introduced a framework aimed to support the WCD operationalization. However, this framework has been operationalized only partially until now and by Gilbert Cockton himself. The thesis relates our WCD experience with Cocoon, a mobile and context-aware information system. The thesis contributions are both conceptual and methodological. From a conceptual point of view, we introduce the PIPE (Personal, Impersonal, Perennial, Ephemeral) taxonomy for information characterization and show that existing systems only partially covers the PIPE information space: they focus on impersonal information. This notice motivated us to propose the life tree concept and Cocoon. From a methodological point of view, we offer a feedback to the community on an interesting concept method as well as recommendations for more efficient operationalizations. In addition, we introduce a framework for worth maps construction and a strategy for worth assessment.

A presente pesquisa está centrada na interpretação das análises de palinofácies e de geoquímica orgânica realizadas em três perfis sedimentares (T1, T2 e T3) de zonas úmidas continentais influenciadas por diferentes regimes hidrológicos na faixa climática subtropical durante o Quaternário no sul do Brasil (Estado do Rio Grande do Sul) com o principal objetivo de demonstrar a utilidade dessas análises para a obtenção de dados paleoclimáticos e paleoambientais. A análise de palinofácies realizada nos testemunhos T1-Mina do Museu (7.963 anos antes do presente - AP) e T2-Mina Modelo (9.542 anos AP), provenientes de Ametista do Sul, e no testemunho T3-Iraí (10.586 anos BP), proveniente de Iraí, revelou um amplo domínio do Grupo Fitoclasto. Os Palinomorfos são o segundo grupo dominante e o Grupo Produto Amorfo é o menos abundante. Esse tipo de análise foi particularmente eficaz para as interpretações dos eventos de precipitação e de sucessão vegetacional em Ametista do Sul, porque o isolamento hidrológico desses alagados efêmeros de altitude torna-os muito sensíveis aos efeitos climáticos. As flutuações na profundidade da água foram inferidas a partir das concentrações dos elementos autóctones (especialmente Botryoccocus e outras algas), que predominam nos intervalos basais e tendem a diminuir progressivamente em direção ao topo. Pseudoschizaea, por sua vez, parece atuar como um marcador biológico de intervalos de transição. O aumento da frequência e da variedade dos esporomorfos terrestres nas camadas mais superficiais indica um aumento da diversidade vegetal e está relacionado ao processo de evolução sucessional da área. Para Ametista do Sul, os resultados permitiram determinar que as oscilações nos padrões de umidade resultaram em um padrão intermitente do nível de água dos alagados, o qual pode representar um reflexo de mudanças climáticas regionais ou, talvez, de mudanças em escala global relacionadas com os “eventos Bond”. Em Iraí, a fração orgânica melhor representada é constituída por elementos derivados de plantas terrestres, uma característica típica da matéria orgânica preservada em turfeiras Esse tipo de ambiente úmido nunca chegou a secar completamente, uma vez que os teores de umidade eram subsidiados por diferentes fatores, tais como o nível do lençol freático, as inundações do Rio Uruguai e a água da chuva. A ocorrência muito baixa de algas, contudo, indica que a profundidade da água não era suficientemente espessa para o desenvolvimento da biomassa algálica, embora o ambiente anóxico e redutor também possa ter limitado a expansão deste grupo. Os parâmetros organogeoquímicos foram particularmente úteis para interpretações de eventos de anoxia e de mudanças nos regimes hidrológicos dos sedimentos turfosos. Os teores de carbono orgânico total (COT) e enxofre total (ST) são mais altos na porção basal do perfil, diminuindo em direção ao topo, e podem estar relacionados ao regime hidrológico ou à interferência antrópica na dinâmica da paisagem. O teor anômalo de enxofre observado em uma das amostras de Iraí pode ser devido a uma fonte externa e talvez relacionado com a presença de fontes termais na região. A presente pesquisa tem potencial como uma referência moderna capaz de ser aplicada na reconstrução de paleoambientes continentais análogos associados a regiões alagadas em cinturões subtropicais. / The present research focuses on the interpretation of the palynofacies and organic geochemistry analyses performed on three sedimentary cores (T1, T2 and T3) from continental wetlands influenced by different hydrological regimes in the sub-tropical climatic belt during the Quaternary in southern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul State), with the main goal of demonstrating the usefulness of these analyses for obtaining paleoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental data. Palynofacies analysis was performed for the cores T1-Mina do Museu (7963 years before present - BP) and T2-Mina Modelo (9542 years BP) from Ametista do Sul, and for the T3-Iraí core (10586 years BP) from Iraí and revealed a high dominance of the Phytoclast Group. The Palynomorph is the second most dominant group and the Amorphous Product is the least abundant group. This kind of analysis was particularly effective in the interpretations of rainfall events and vegetation succession in Ametista do Sul, because the hydrological isolation renders the ephemeral ponds at high altitude highly sensitive to climatic effects. The fluctuations in the water depth are inferred from the concentration of the autochthonous elements (especially Botryoccocus and other algae), which predominate in the basal intervals and tend to decrease progressively towards the top. Pseudoschizaea, in its turn, appears to act as a biological marker for transitional intervals. The increasing frequency and variety of the terrestrial sporomorphs in the topmost interval indicate an increased vegetal diversity and is most likely related to the process of successional evolution of the area. For Ametista do Sul, the results allowed to determine that the oscillations in the moisture pattern resulted in the intermittent feature of pond water level and this may reflect the regional climate changes or perhaps the global scale changes related to the Bond events. In Iraí, the better represented organic fraction consists of elements derived from terrestrial plants, a characteristic typical of organic matter preserved in peat bogs. This kind of wetland never dried completely, since the moisture content was subsidized by different factors, such as the groundwater, the flood events of the Uruguay River and the rainfall water. The very low occurrence of algae, however, indicates that the water was not deep enough for the development of algalic biomass, although the anoxic, reducing environment may also have limited the expansion of this group. The organic geochemistry parameters were particularly useful for interpretation of anoxia events and changes of hydrological regimes in the peaty sediment. The total organic carbon (TOC) and the total sulfur (TS) contents are higher in the basal portion of the profile, decreasing towards the top and could be linked to hydrologic regimes or to anthropogenic interference in the landscape dynamics. The anomalous TS content observed in one of the samples from Iraí might be due to an external source and perhaps related to the presence of thermal springs in the region. The present research has potential as a modern reference that can be applied in the reconstruction of past analogous continental paleoenvironments associated to wetland areas in subtropical belts.

A presente pesquisa está centrada na interpretação das análises de palinofácies e de geoquímica orgânica realizadas em três perfis sedimentares (T1, T2 e T3) de zonas úmidas continentais influenciadas por diferentes regimes hidrológicos na faixa climática subtropical durante o Quaternário no sul do Brasil (Estado do Rio Grande do Sul) com o principal objetivo de demonstrar a utilidade dessas análises para a obtenção de dados paleoclimáticos e paleoambientais. A análise de palinofácies realizada nos testemunhos T1-Mina do Museu (7.963 anos antes do presente - AP) e T2-Mina Modelo (9.542 anos AP), provenientes de Ametista do Sul, e no testemunho T3-Iraí (10.586 anos BP), proveniente de Iraí, revelou um amplo domínio do Grupo Fitoclasto. Os Palinomorfos são o segundo grupo dominante e o Grupo Produto Amorfo é o menos abundante. Esse tipo de análise foi particularmente eficaz para as interpretações dos eventos de precipitação e de sucessão vegetacional em Ametista do Sul, porque o isolamento hidrológico desses alagados efêmeros de altitude torna-os muito sensíveis aos efeitos climáticos. As flutuações na profundidade da água foram inferidas a partir das concentrações dos elementos autóctones (especialmente Botryoccocus e outras algas), que predominam nos intervalos basais e tendem a diminuir progressivamente em direção ao topo. Pseudoschizaea, por sua vez, parece atuar como um marcador biológico de intervalos de transição. O aumento da frequência e da variedade dos esporomorfos terrestres nas camadas mais superficiais indica um aumento da diversidade vegetal e está relacionado ao processo de evolução sucessional da área. Para Ametista do Sul, os resultados permitiram determinar que as oscilações nos padrões de umidade resultaram em um padrão intermitente do nível de água dos alagados, o qual pode representar um reflexo de mudanças climáticas regionais ou, talvez, de mudanças em escala global relacionadas com os “eventos Bond”. Em Iraí, a fração orgânica melhor representada é constituída por elementos derivados de plantas terrestres, uma característica típica da matéria orgânica preservada em turfeiras Esse tipo de ambiente úmido nunca chegou a secar completamente, uma vez que os teores de umidade eram subsidiados por diferentes fatores, tais como o nível do lençol freático, as inundações do Rio Uruguai e a água da chuva. A ocorrência muito baixa de algas, contudo, indica que a profundidade da água não era suficientemente espessa para o desenvolvimento da biomassa algálica, embora o ambiente anóxico e redutor também possa ter limitado a expansão deste grupo. Os parâmetros organogeoquímicos foram particularmente úteis para interpretações de eventos de anoxia e de mudanças nos regimes hidrológicos dos sedimentos turfosos. Os teores de carbono orgânico total (COT) e enxofre total (ST) são mais altos na porção basal do perfil, diminuindo em direção ao topo, e podem estar relacionados ao regime hidrológico ou à interferência antrópica na dinâmica da paisagem. O teor anômalo de enxofre observado em uma das amostras de Iraí pode ser devido a uma fonte externa e talvez relacionado com a presença de fontes termais na região. A presente pesquisa tem potencial como uma referência moderna capaz de ser aplicada na reconstrução de paleoambientes continentais análogos associados a regiões alagadas em cinturões subtropicais. / The present research focuses on the interpretation of the palynofacies and organic geochemistry analyses performed on three sedimentary cores (T1, T2 and T3) from continental wetlands influenced by different hydrological regimes in the sub-tropical climatic belt during the Quaternary in southern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul State), with the main goal of demonstrating the usefulness of these analyses for obtaining paleoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental data. Palynofacies analysis was performed for the cores T1-Mina do Museu (7963 years before present - BP) and T2-Mina Modelo (9542 years BP) from Ametista do Sul, and for the T3-Iraí core (10586 years BP) from Iraí and revealed a high dominance of the Phytoclast Group. The Palynomorph is the second most dominant group and the Amorphous Product is the least abundant group. This kind of analysis was particularly effective in the interpretations of rainfall events and vegetation succession in Ametista do Sul, because the hydrological isolation renders the ephemeral ponds at high altitude highly sensitive to climatic effects. The fluctuations in the water depth are inferred from the concentration of the autochthonous elements (especially Botryoccocus and other algae), which predominate in the basal intervals and tend to decrease progressively towards the top. Pseudoschizaea, in its turn, appears to act as a biological marker for transitional intervals. The increasing frequency and variety of the terrestrial sporomorphs in the topmost interval indicate an increased vegetal diversity and is most likely related to the process of successional evolution of the area. For Ametista do Sul, the results allowed to determine that the oscillations in the moisture pattern resulted in the intermittent feature of pond water level and this may reflect the regional climate changes or perhaps the global scale changes related to the Bond events. In Iraí, the better represented organic fraction consists of elements derived from terrestrial plants, a characteristic typical of organic matter preserved in peat bogs. This kind of wetland never dried completely, since the moisture content was subsidized by different factors, such as the groundwater, the flood events of the Uruguay River and the rainfall water. The very low occurrence of algae, however, indicates that the water was not deep enough for the development of algalic biomass, although the anoxic, reducing environment may also have limited the expansion of this group. The organic geochemistry parameters were particularly useful for interpretation of anoxia events and changes of hydrological regimes in the peaty sediment. The total organic carbon (TOC) and the total sulfur (TS) contents are higher in the basal portion of the profile, decreasing towards the top and could be linked to hydrologic regimes or to anthropogenic interference in the landscape dynamics. The anomalous TS content observed in one of the samples from Iraí might be due to an external source and perhaps related to the presence of thermal springs in the region. The present research has potential as a modern reference that can be applied in the reconstruction of past analogous continental paleoenvironments associated to wetland areas in subtropical belts.

La thématique de recherche est d’analyser les tenants et les aboutissants du mythe moderne de santé parfaite via les démarches socio-anthropologique, philosophique et théologico-religieuse, afin de saisir sa problématique éthique. Examiner les transformations des pratiques thérapeutiques a demandé de retranscrire d’abord, sous un mode théorique, les principes qui sont aux fondements de l’exigence sanitaire pour étudier ensuite des expériences ad hoc. Aussi, supposé incarner cette idéologie, le dépistage systématique néonatal de la mucoviscidose relié aux centres de suivi génétique a été la base empirique d’un questionnement éthique spécifique, comme la responsabilité de l’homme face à la vulnérabilité et à la finitude humaine. Orientée par une éthique de la parole suggérant la création d’espaces de réflexion d’où émane une pensée créative, le concept de rite de passage - doté de sa dynamique d’accompagnement - apporte des indications sur la fonction d’une éthique du soin déterminée. / The topic of research is to analyze the ins and outs of modern myth of perfect health through socio-anthropological approaches, philosophical and theological-religious to grasp its ethical problems. Examining changes in treatment practices needed to transcribe first, from a theoretical mode, the principles are the foundations of sanitary requirement then consider ad hoc experiments. Also supposed to embody this ideology, systematic neonatal screening for cystic fibrosis related centers of genetic monitoring was the empirical basis for an ethical questioning sui generis, as the responsibility of the man facing the vulnerability and human finitude. Guided by an ethic of speech suggesting ultimately creating spaces for reflection where creative thinking follows the concept of “rite of passage" - with its accompanying dynamics - provides indications on reality based an ethic of care determined.

The Permo-Triassic lower Beaufort Group fluvial deposits extend over 100s of kilometres within the Karoo Basin, South Africa. A detailed study of the depositional architecture and stacking patterns of sand bodies within a 900 m thick succession has enabled interpretation of the controls on ancient river channel and overbank processes. Facies include very fine- to medium-grained sandstone, intra-formational conglomerate, mudstone and palaeosols. Channel-belts are dominated by upper flow regime structures, consistent with a flashy to ephemeral fluvial system. The overbank deposits comprise splays interbedded with purple, green and grey mudstone; these floodplain colour changes signify water table fluctuations. A hierarchy of channel-related elements has been established that recognises beds, bedsets, storeys, channel-belts, complexes and complex sets. Each channel-belt may be single- or multi-storey, whereby one storey represents the complete cut and fill cycle of a single migrating river, comprising bar accretion elements and channel-abandonment fill. The abandonment fill elements often consist of heterolithic plugs of climbing ripple-laminated very fine-grained sandstone, or interbedded claystone with siltstone. The Beaufort channel-belts preserve either lateral- or downstream-accretion patterns, or a combination. Each belt has either a lenticular or tabular geometry, recognisable by an erosional base overlain by intra-formational conglomerate lag and barform deposits. Genetically related channel-belts cluster to form complexes, of which two broad styles have been identified: Type A) laterally and vertically stacked channel-belts, and Type B) sub-vertically stacked channel-belts. There is evidence of localised clustering of sub-vertically stacked channel-belts adjacent to extensive overbank mudstone deposits. The apparent lack of a well-defined ‘container’ surface with mappable margins, suggests that this stacked channel-belt architecture represents an avulsion complex rather than a palaeovalley-fill. The lateral and stratigraphic variability in fluvial-overbank architecture is interpreted as the interplay of several controls. Allogenic forcing factors include, tectonic subsidence that influences accommodation, sediment supply, and high frequency climate cycles associated with the flashy discharge regime and expressed in the mudrock colour changes and distribution of palaeosols. The depositional river style, variability in channel-belt stacking patterns and compensational stacking of some channel-belt/splay complexes is interpreted to be the result of autogenic channel avulsion, supported by an absence of significant erosion. The relative merits of basin-axial trunk river and distributive fluvial system (DFS) models are assessed from detailed architectural and stratigraphic outcrop studies.

No description available.