Le Norte-Chico constitue une zone tampon ayant enregistrée les fluctuations climatiques quaternaires. La fraîcheur des modelés et des formes présents dans la haute cordillère de l’Elqui, va nous permettre de tenter d’expliquer le calendrier de mise en place des éléments du relief. Les indices de terrain nous permettent de mettre en évidence un enchaînement de processus faisant intervenir la notion de relais et de zones tampons dans le transit sédimentaire. Les crises morphogéniques à l’origine des formations de versant et de fond de vallée actuellement visibles résultent d’une réponse plus ou moins directe de l’orogène Andin aux épisodes climatiques ; par conséquent, les résultats obtenus sont confrontés aux résultats d’autres études et dans des sites proches ou non de notre lieu d’étude afin d’apporter des exemples et des arguments aux hypothèses actuelles sur l’évolution des conditions climatiques quaternaires du Norte-Chico. La complexité de la mise en place des éléments du relief nécessite en premier lieu une explication des différentes phases orogéniques ainsi que des évolutions morphoclimatiques ayant abouti à la mise en place des conditions actuelles. Ensuite, la méthodologie nécessaire au travail de terrain et à l’obtention de résultats cohérents est définie et expliquée. Une dernière partie est consacrée à la synthèse de l’enchaînement de mise en place des formations de fond de vallée ; les résultats de cette étude sont également replacés dans un débat scientifique plus large permettant d’appréhender les potentialités apportées par la géomorphologie dans l’étude des paléoenvironnements quaternaires dans le Norte-Chico comme à l’échelle planétaire. / Norte Chico is a buffer zone having registered Quaternary climatic fluctuations. The preservation of landforms and relief present in the Elqui cordillera, make it a rich geomorphological study area, which may provide answers to many of the assumptions Quaternary calendar climate of the region. Freshness and modeled forms present in the high Andes of Elqui, coupled with the presence of datable organic matter, will allow us to to explain the timing of implementation of the elements of relief. Field indices surveys allow us to highlight a series of processes involving the notion of relay and buffer zones in the sediment transport. Morphogenic crises originally training slope and valley floor currently visible result of a more or less direct answer of the Andean orogen to climatic events, so the results are compared with the results of other studies and in sites close or not our place of study to provide examples and arguments to current hypotheses on the evolution of the Quaternary climatic Norte Chico and multiscale way. The complexity of the implementation of the relief units, requires firstly an explanation of the different orogenic phases and developments morphoclimatic leading to the gradual development of current conditions. Second, the methodology necessary fieldwork and consistent results is defined and explained. A final section presents the synthesis of the series of training implementation valley bottom; the results of this study are also viewed in a broader scientific debate to apprehend the potential provided by the geomorphology in the Quaternary paleoenvironmental study of the Norte Chico as globally.

Every thousand years or so, when the Mississippi River's sediment load lengthened and blocked the River’s route to the Gulf of Mexico, the mother stream changed course completely, finding a shorter route to the sea. Then, it built a new delta, thus spreading the gift of land creation along a wide coastline and creating the bayou region of Louisiana. However, this ancient, natural process was gradually halted by the arrival of man who settled across the River's natural floodplain (delta) and constructed levees and other structures to control the great Mississippi River. Since the 1930s, the Mississippi River Delta Basin and the coast of Louisiana have been literally losing ground. The decline of this environment is now affecting, and will continue to affect, our nation's economy, infrastructure, culture, and safety. Moreover, efforts to fix this problem are not working. My research and this thesis will address the issue of how plans without action have appeased Louisianans while the nation looses vital wetlands daily.

Das mittlere Baruther Urstromtal und Umgebung zwischen Luckenwalde und Golßen (Brandenburg, Deutschland) ist reich an äolischen Bildungen (DE BOER, 1990). Aus einer Kombination der bekannten Dünentypen (Parabel-, Längs-, Quer- und Kupstendünen) wird eine Reihe von 6 Dünenkomplexen abgeleitet. Sie sind aus einem oder mehreren Dünentypen aufgebaut und haben eine unterschiedliche Genese, Unterschiede im Alter und der Alterssfolge sowie eine bestimmte topographische Lage. Die (oberflächig anstehenden) Talsande/Flug(deck)sande, die Alt- und die Jungdünensande werden von Fein- bis Mittelsanden gebildet. In den jeweiligen Vertikalprofilen ist nach dem Körnungsbild eine Dreiteilung zu erkennen: die "liegenden" (Urstromtalterrassen-)Sande, die Altdünensande und die "hangenden" Jungdünensande. Das Liegende der ältesten Binnendünen ähnelt den Terrassensanden sehr. Daher darf angenommen werden, daß die oberen Urstromtalsande eine starke äolische Komponente besitzen. Altersbestimmungen wurden durch relative Positionierung, Feststellungen zur Art der Bodenbildungen, archäologische Funde, Pollenanalysen sowie Karten- und Literaturstudien vorgenommen, ergänzt durch Radiokarbon- (14C-) und Thermolumineszenzdatierungen. Eine methodische Neuerung ist die automatisierte Bearbeitung der Dünnschliffbilder. Mit dem Quantimet-970-Bildverarbeitungssystem wurde die Einregelung der Längsachsen von Quarzkörnern ermittelt. Die Messungen ergaben, dass die (N)NO-(S)SW-, die ONO-WSW- und die SSO-NNW-Richtungen vorherrschen. Es ist zu vermuten, dass die wichtigsten dünenbildenden Winde im Weichselspätglazial und im Holozän aus den westlichen und südlichen Quadranten wehten, wobei Südwestwinde vorgeherrscht haben dürften. Auf Grund der Forschungsergebnisse werden 12 Phasen der Dünenbildung unterschieden. Sie vermitteln ein Bild der äolischen Prozesse und Landschaftsformen, welches mit Daten aus Niedersachsen und West-Polen größtenteils übereinstimmt. / The Central Baruth Ice-Marginal Valley and surroundings between Luckenwalde and Golßen (Brandenburg, Germany) is rich in aeolian deposits and aeolian landscape forms DE BOER (1990). From a combination of the well-known dune forms (longitudinal, transverse, parabolic and hummocky dunes) a series of 6 dune complexes can be identified. These dune complexes are built by one or several dune types and differ in genesis or building sequence, in age or age sequence as well as in topographic position. The (surficial) valley/aeolian sands, the cover sands and the drift sands are mainly composed of fine- to medium-grained fractions. Based on grain-size analysis three units can be distinguished in the studied vertical profiles: the underlying (valley terrace) sands, the cover sands ("Altdünensande") and the overlying drift sands ("Jungdünensande"). The sands of the substratum of the oldest inland dunes are very similar to these dune sands. Therefore it is accepted that the upper parts of the valley sands contain a strong aeolian component. A modernization is the automated method of long axes orientation measurements on elongated quartz grains in thin sections with the Quantimet-970 Image Analyzer. The results showed that the (N)NE-(S)SW-, the ENE-WSW- and the SSE-NNW-directions dominated. It is to be expected that the most important dune building winds during the Weichselian Late Glacial and during the Holocene were winds from the western and southern quadrants, with southwest winds most likely being the most important. Dating was done by means of relative positioning, palaeosols, archaeological finds, pollen analysis, cartographic and literature research as well as by means of the 14C- and thermoluminescence dating methods. Based on the results of this research 12 dune-forming phases have been distinguished. They give an impression of aeolian processes and landscape forms that are in accordance with dates obtained from dunes in Niedersachsen and west Poland.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The primary objective of this research involves mapping out and validating the existence of sub surface drainage tiles in a given cropland using Remote Sensing and GIS methodologies. The process is dependent on soil edge differentiation found in lighter versus darker IR reflectance values from tiled vs. untiled soils patches. Data is collected from various sources and a primary classifier is created using secondary field variables such as soil type, topography and land Use and land cover (LULC). The classifier mask reduces computational time and allows application of various filtering algorithms for detection of edges. The filtered image allows an efficient feature recognition platform allowing the tile drains to be better identified. User defined methods and natural vision based methodologies are also developed or adopted as novel techniques for edge detection. The generated results are validated with field data sets which were established using Ground Penetration Radar (GPR) studies. Overlay efficiency is calculated for each methodology along with omission and commission errors. This comparison yields adaptable and efficient edge detection techniques which can be used for similar areas allowing further development of the tile detection process.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / U/Pb and (U-Th)/He (ZHe) dating of detrital zircons from glacial till samples in the Ross Embayment, Antarctica records cooling after the Ross/Pan-African orogeny (450-625 Ma) followed by a mid-Jurassic to mid-Cretaceous heating event in the Beacon basin. Zircons were extracted from till samples from heads of major outlet glaciers in East Antarctica, one sample at the mouth of Scott Glacier, and from beneath three West Antarctic ice streams. The Ross/Pan-African U/Pb population is ubiquitous in these Antarctic tills and many Beacon Supergroup sandstones, thus 83 grains were analyzed for ZHe to subdivide this population. Two ZHe age populations are evident in East Antarctic tills, with 64% of grains 115-200 Ma and 35% between 200-650 Ma. The older population is interpreted to be associated with the Ross/Pan-African orogeny including cooling of the Granite Harbour Intrusives and/or exhumation of the older basement rocks to form the Kukri Peneplain. The lag time between zircon U/Pb, ZHe and 40Ar/39Ar ages from K-bearing minerals show cooling over 200 My. Grains in East Antarctic tills with a ZHe age of 115-200 Ma likely reflects regional heating following the breakup of Gondwana from the Ferrar dolerite intrusions, subsidence within the rift basin, and a higher geothermal gradient. Subsequent cooling and/or exhumation of the Transantarctic Mountains brought grains below the closure temperature over a span of 80 My. This population may also provide a Beacon Supergroup signature as most of the tills with this age are adjacent to nunataks mapped as Beacon Supergroup and contain an abundance of vi Beacon pebbles within the moraine. Nine zircons grains from three Beacon Supergroup sandstones collected from moraines across the Transantarctic Mountains yield ages from 125-180 Ma. West Antarctic tills contain a range of ZHe ages from 75-450 Ma reflecting the diverse provenance of basin fill from East Antarctica and Marie Byrd Land. ZHe and U/Pb ages <105 Ma appear to be distinctive of West Antarctic tills. The combination of U/Pb, ZHe and 40Ar/39Ar analyses demonstrates that these techniques can be used to better constrain the tectonic evolution and cooling of the inaccessible subglacial source terrains beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet.