The Winnipeg River Drainage Basin (WRDB), located in the boreal forest region of Canada, is a pivotal region of focus for the assessment of water availability to determine susceptibility to drought in the past. To date, there have been relatively few paleolimnological studies focusing on how lake levels have changed in the past and whether these changes have been synchronous in the WRDB. This study investigates temporal patterns in effective moisture from Little Raleigh Lake over the last two millennia. Analyses are based on diatoms from two near-shore sediment cores from different locations and water depth in Little Raleigh Lake. Changes in diatom assemblages are used to reconstruct quantitative estimates of effective moisture in the past through the calibration of a diatom-inferred depth model developed from diatom assemblages in surficial sediments along a depth transect in Little Raleigh Lake. Declines of ~1-3m occurred during the late Holocene, with prolonged periods of aridity consistent with the timing of the Medieval Climate Anamoly (~950-1250AD) and the Little Ice Age (~1650-1750AD). The nearshore core retrieved closer to the present-day ecotone between the benthic and planktonic diatom assemblages was more sensitive to tracking water level changes in the lake than the deeper core. Conditions during the last two millennia can be used for the assessment of water availability in the past, and may offer insight on future conditions under increasing temperatures. / Thesis (Master, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2011-07-29 17:09:49.155

Excavations at Natural Trap Cave (NTC) began in the mid-1970's and quickly yielded evidence of a diverse steppe fauna that existed during the Last Glacial Maximum (MIS 2) along the western slope of the Bighorn Mountains in north central Wyoming. NTC is a karst pit cave with a 24.5 m vertical drop into a roughly 43 m wide bell-shaped ‘Main Chamber’ and during the course of early excavations a plugged entrance to a fossil-bearing ‘Lower Chamber’ was discovered. Stratigraphic relationships below the entrance to the Main Chamber of the cave were originally studied in the mid-1970's, but were never formally published. Although stratigraphy, taphonomy, and depositional circumstances were briefly discussed over the following years, little has been done to correlate the numerous stratigraphic schemes used by various authors. In this study, four stratigraphic sections were measured and analyzed to establish an easily modifiable lithostratigraphic system of nomenclature. We provide the first correlations of all stratigraphic nomenclature used throughout excavations at NTC to facilitate comparisons with current and previous collections and publications. By leveraging more than 100 radioisotopic dates we developed an age-depth model and chronostratigraphic framework to further interrogate spatiotemporal relationships between strata, paleoenvironmental proxies, and fossil assemblages. Deposition is shown to be discontinuous; sediment accumulation in the study area is restricted to the buildup through peak penultimate and Last Glacial maxima. More recent (<10 ka) Holocene deposits unconformably cover the eroded surface of underlying Pleistocene strata. There is active reworking of sediments with transport and deposition of reactivated material within the Lower Chamber. We note that the two hiatuses coincide with interglacial periods and may reflect changing depositional circumstances within the cave such as extended periods of non-deposition, erosion, or bypass (possibly leading to deposition in the Lower Chamber). Contrary to previous reports, we demonstrate that it is unlikely a prominent snow cone existed or contributed to the pattern of sediment and fossil distribution within the study area, furthermore, we do not observe a continuous Pleistocene-Holocene transition in the study area. Further stratigraphic work will be needed to better understand the interrelationship between Main and Lower chamber deposits and the evolution of sediment accumulation in NTC.

Traditionellt har större fartyg bestyckade med ekolod använts för att utföra batymetriska mätningar av sjö- och havsbottnar. Att utföra mätningar i grunda vatten har varit problematiskt eftersom större fartyg inte kan nå dessa grunda vatten. För att tackla det problemet har mindre obemannade ytfarkoster (USV) utvecklats för att mäta grunda vatten. Dessa USVs hjälper även till vid områden nära stenar som inte har fått uppdaterade djupvärden. Den här undersökningens syfte är att utvärdera hur en Seafloor HydroLite TM enkelstrålsekolod monterad på en USV skiljer sig från insamlingsmetoderna GNSS och med måttband. Den syftar även till att utvärdera vilken interpolationsteknik som är mest lämpad för skapande av djupmodeller med enkelstrålsekolodsdata. Det kommer också studeras hur tvärsektioner påverkar djupmodellerna skapade med enkelstrålsekolod. De experimentella mätningarna med GNSS, måttband och enkelstrålsekolod utfördes i sjön Öjaren som ligger utanför Sandviken. I undersökningen inmättes totalt 91 punkter med GNSS och måttband samt 8 mätstråk och 9 tvärsektioner med enkelstrålsekolod monterad på en USV. Djupmodellerna skapades i Surfer 10 med interpolationsteknikerna kriging, natural neighbor och triangulation with linear interpolation. Alla beräkningar genomfördes i Microsoft Excel och data insamlat med måttband ansågs vara det sanna värdet vid jämförelsen mellan insamlingsmetoderna. Resultaten visade att djupmodellerna skapade med GNSS-data är snarlika till djupmodellerna skapade med måttbandsdata samt att djupmodellerna med GNSS-data visar på den minsta skillnaden mot djupmodellerna skapade med enkelstrålsekolodsdata. Resultatet från jämförelsen mellan interpolationsteknikerna visar på att användandet av de olika interpolationsteknikerna inte har en signifikant påverkan på djupmodellen. Våra slutsatser av undersökningen blev att användande av ett enkelstrålsekolod kan bidra till att skapa en mer detaljerad djupmodell än om enbart GNSS eller måttbandsdata används. Det är också en mer kostnadseffektiv metod eftersom mer data kan samlas in på kortare tid. Det kan dock uppstå felmätningar vid insamlade av data med enkelstrålsekolod som kan vara svåra att upptäcka. Tilläggande av tvärsektioner kan bidra till att skapa en ännu mer detaljerad djupmodell och kan användas som kontrollpunkter vid kontroll av enkelstrålsekolodsdata. / Traditionally, large vessels armed with echo sounders have been used to conduct bathymetric surveys of the seas and oceans. Conducting surveys of shallow water have been troublesome since larger vessels cannot reach and survey shallow waters. To tackle that problem smaller unmanned surface vessels (USV) have been developed to survey shallow waters. It also helps in the areas closest to rocks that do not have updated depth measurements. This study aims to assess how a Seafloor HydroLite TM single-beam echo sounder mounted on a USV differs from other surveying methods. It also aims to evaluate which interpolation methods is most suitable for creating depth models by utilizing single-beam echo sounder data. It will also be studied how cross section lines affect the created depth using the USV. The experimental surveys with GNSS, measuring tape and single-beam echo sounder were used in the lake Öjaren that is located outside of Sandviken. In this study a total of 91 points were collected with GNSS and measuring tape and 8 sounding lines and 9 cross sections lines were collected using echo sounder mounted on the USV. The depth models were created in Surfer 10 using different interpolation methods i.e. kriging, natural neighbor and triangulation with linear interpolation. All calculation were performed in Microsoft Excel and the measurements collected with measuring tape were assumed as a “true” value to evaluate the different surveying techniques. The results showed that the depth model obtained using GNSS data is close to the depth model created using measuring tape data and shows lowest difference in comparison to the USV technique. The results from the comparison between interpolation methods showed that the use of different interpolation methods not have a significant impact on the depth model. The study concludes that the use of a single-beam echo sounder can help to create a more detailed depth model than using GNSS or measuring tape. It is also a cost effective method that helps collect more data in a short time. Though, some errors can appear in the data collected using the single-beam echo sounder that can be hard to detect. The cross section lines can contribute to a more detailed depth model and can be used as control points.