This thesis uses palaeolimnological records to reconstruct Holocene ontogeny trends from four lakes in south western Greenland. The research addresses four hypotheses investigating how Holocene lake ontogeny trends vary under different climatic settings, how long-term changes in ontogeny relate to periods of established climatic change in the region, the similarities between proxies within the lakes and between the lakes, and the role of vegetation in lake ontogeny. The study region occupies the widest ice-free area of south western Greenland and is characterised by a climatic gradient. The area inland and nearer to the ice-margin is arid, receives less precipitation and is warmer relative to the coastal areas. A paired lake approach, using lake records from two inland lakes and two coastal lakes, was adopted to examine the role of climatic setting upon lake development trajectories. Specifically, diatoms were used to reconstruct DI-alkalinity from the lakes using a DI-alkalinity model created from existing training sets in the region (WA Cla model, r2boot = 0.76, RMSEP = 0.28 log alkalinity units), sedimentary pigments to investigate trends in production and sedimentary parameters to reconstruct organic and minerogenic accumulation rates. All four lakes experienced comparable Holocene long-term ontogeny trajectories; maximum alkalinity in the first ~ 1000 cal. year BP of deglaciation followed by maximum production during the peak of Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) warming (~7000 -6000 cal. years BP). Following the HTM, all lakes demonstrated oligotrophication and a decline in pH. Vegetation development and catchment stabilisation at the end of the HTM may be important in determining the onset of oligotrophication in vegetated catchments. However, the impact of vegetation development on lake ontogeny cannot be isolated from the changes in the lakes associated with the colder and wetter climate which occurred at the end of the peak HTM warming. The timings of the large transitions in the ontogeny trajectories are comparable with established periods of Holocene climatic variability in the region; climate forcing drives ontogeny in these lakes. However, there are short-term differences between the lakes indicating that lakes have different thresholds of ecological change and may respond differently to the same climate forcing. It is concluded that ontogeny is driven by climate but lakes may respond differently to forcing depending on catchment specific characteristics which can filter out the climate signal or cause climate to influence the lake in a more direct way.

Fluvial adjustment to base level change has its roots in the fundamental concepts of geomorphology. This thesis explores the rate of erosion and sedimentation on the Colorado and Dirty Devil rivers and North Wash Creek under the current base level changes related to the drawdown conditions of Lake Powell. Through cross section and long profile resurveys, the current state of each system is captured and added to the historic record of sedimentation in Lake Powell. All three systems are generally forming narrow and deep incised channels driven by the rapid rate of base level fall. Cross sections that deviate from this are due to site-specific factors, such as channel armoring, the presence of local base levels, or bedrock canyon width in relation to active channel width. In all systems, sediment is being transported through the establishing fluvial regime and is deposited at or below the new base level. This has caused rapid downstream progradation of each delta front. The volume of sediment accumulation and erosion and rates through time are calculated for each system. Deposit volume is proportional to each systems drainage basin area, as are the rates and magnitudes of deposition and erosion. The percentage of sediment eroded versus deposited shows an inverse relationship, with North Wash eroding the greatest percentage of its delta. Field observations and repeat photography on the distribution, orientation, and activity of lateral slumping and mud cracks identify that thick beds of fine-grained and cohesive silts and clays are necessary for these features to form. These features act to destabilize sediment and, in the case of bank failure, deliver it directly to the channel.

No description available.

[pt] Os reservatórios de Vigário e de Santana são parte da bacia do Paraíba do Sul que fornecem água para três hidroelétricas integradas do sistema de energia da Light, com uma capacidade de geração de energia de 612 MW. Considerando o aumento da demanda e do fornecimento de energia, a operação das hidroelétricas gera mudanças no perfil de ocupação do solo, com consequente impacto nas taxas de erosão. Como consequência, os parâmetros originais relacionados ao assoreamento do reservatório não são mais aplicáveis, resultando numa vida útil menor do que a prevista nos projetos originais. Dentro das alternativas que permitem recuperar dados sobre a variação da velocidade de sedimentação em escala anual, diversos estudos destacam o uso do 210Pb. Este trabalho discute o estudo de testemunhos retirados em diferentes pontos dos reservatórios de Santana e de Vigário. Os perfis de umidade qualificaram 4 testemunhos para serem analisados através da técnica do 210Pb empregando o modelo CRS. Os metais Cr e Zn apresentaram valores de concentração acima do seu valor de TEL, e podem estar causando algum efeito colateral na fauna e flora da região. A datação por 210Pb evidenciaram um aumento significativo das velocidades de sedimentação. O aumento observado nos testemunhos de Vigário foi superior ao verificado no testemunho de Santana. Foi observado um lento incremento na taxa de sedimentação do reservatório de Vigário até o final da década de 1990, já Santana apresentou aumentos e reduções ao longo dos anos, sugerindo que este seja mais susceptível a variações anuais. / [en] The Vigario and Santana reservoirs are part of the Paraiba do Sul basin which supply water to three hydroelectric plants integrated in Light s energy system, with a power generation capacity of 612 MW. Considering the increase in energy demand and supply, the operation of hydroelectric plants brings changes in the soil occupation profile, and consequently, impacts on the erosion rates. Under the circumstances, the original parameters related to the silting of the reservoir are no longer applicable, resulting in a shorter useful life than expected in the original projects. Among the alternatives for recovering historical data on the variation of the sedimentation velocity on an annual scale, several studies highlight the use 210Pb. This work discusses the study of samples taken from different regions of the Santana and Vigario reservoirs. The moisture profiles qualified 4 cores to be analyzed using the 210Pb technique using the CRS model. The metals Cr and Zn showed concentration values above their TEL value, and may be causing some side effect on the fauna and flora of the region. The 210Pb dating showed a significant increase in sedimentation velocities. The increase observed in the Vigario cores was higher than that observed in the Santana core. A slow increase in the sedimentation rate of the Vigario reservoir was observed until the end of the 1990s, while the Santana reservoir showed increases and decreases over the years, suggesting that Santana is more susceptible to annual variations.

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been assigned toxic equivalency factors (TEFs). These compounds are today routinely analysed with sophisticated analytical techniques. In a near future, there might be other dioxinlike compounds such as polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), alkyl-polychlorodibenzofurans (R-PCDFs), and polychlorinated dibenzothiophenes (PCDTs) added to this list of toxic dioxin-like compounds. It is therefore important to have a readiness to analyse these new compounds in environmental samples. In this study, a multi-residue non-destructive analytical method for the analyses of these planar dioxin-like compound classes was developed. The use of HPLC PX-21 carbon column fractionation enabled the separation of interfering PCBs from coplanar PCBs and other planar dioxin-like compounds of interest. The obtained planar fraction containing the dioxin-like compounds was analysed using high-resolution GC-MS. Levels of PCNs in surface sediments and settling particulate matter in the northern Baltic Sea were determined. The concentrations of PCNs in background surface sediments were approximately 1 ng/g dw and the estimated PCN fluxes were similar to the pre-industrial levels determined in Europe. The PCN congener patterns in the surface sediments suggest that the PCNs deposited in the Baltic Sea originate from similar sources. Bioaccumulation of PCNs in a benthic food chain (sediment, amphipod, isopod, and four-horned sculpin) from the Gulf of Bothnia was studied. The results indicated that only a few PCN congeners biomagnified. The highest biomagnification factors (BMFs) were found for 2,3,6,7-substituted congeners and those lacking adjacent hydrogen-substituted carbon atoms. The calculated biota to sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) showed that the tetra- and penta- CNs exhibited BSAF values higher than one, while BSAFs for the more chlorinated PCNs were less than one. A general difference between the northern and southern parts of the Gulf of Bothnia could be seen in the samples, with the lowest PCN and total PCB concentrations being found in the north and the highest in the south. This gradient is related to distance from the more industrialised and populated regions in the southern parts of Sweden and Finland, and central Europe. Analysis of R-PCDFs in crustacean samples from the Swedish west coast was performed using HRGC-MS/MS. The ΣR-PCDFs in these samples were present at concentrations up to 10 times higher than the ΣPCDFs. The relatively high concentrations of R-PCDFs in the crab samples demonstrate that these compounds bioaccumulate. The fate of a pollutant in the environment and the toxicity of a compound are governed by its physicochemical properties. The information found in a data set of properties can predict a compound’s mode of action. The following physicochemical properties for 87 PCDFs were measured: ultra-violetadsorption, relative retention times on two common gas chromatographic stationary phases, and relative mass spectrometric response factors using EI- and NCI- modes.