An Interpretation of Late Quaternary Glacial Flow Indicators in the Baie des Chaleurs Region, Northern New Brunswick

A sequence of late Quaternary geologic events in northern New Brunswick is determined from striation analysis derived from published data, open file reports, and field research conducted by the authors since 1985. These data are integrated with clast provenance and clast fabric trend analysis, as well as information from other studies in the surrounding area. South of the Baie des Chaleurs, a complicated Late Wisconsinan glacial history is preserved in the form of erosive features including nailhead striae, miniature crag-and-tails, and various scars, striations, and fractures. The rarity of sedimentary deposits and datable materials precludes simple stratigraphie interpretation. Based on over 1,000 striation sites, we conclude four major phases of glacial flow affected the area during the Late Wisconsinan: 1) an early flow to the southeast which reflects local Appalachian ice; 2) a second phase of glacial flow to the east indicating a Laurentide ice influence in western New Brunswick; 3) a third phase of glacial flow to the north-northeast, which may represent ice response to drawdown in the Baie des Chaleurs; and 4) a final multidirectional flow indicating localized ice response during the last stages of Late Wisconsinan glaciation. The absence of Canadian Shield erratics in northern New Brunswick is explained in terms of ice streaming along the St. Lawrence channel beneath a southward-flowing Laurentide Ice Sheet. Basal ice debris (including Shield erratics) was apparently truncated and removed by the obliquely flowing ice stream, leaving relatively clean ice in the Ice Sheet as it entered Gaspésie and ultimately New Brunswick.On a déterminé la séquence des événements géologiques du Quaternaire supérieur survenus dans le nord du Nouveau-Brunswick à partir de l'analyse des stries tirée de diverses sources. Au sud de la baie des Chaleurs, l'évolution glaciaire complexe du Wisconsinien supérieur peut être retracée à partir des formes d'érosion glaciaire dont les clouures, les crag-and-tails miniatures, les cicatrices de toutes sortes, les stries et les fractures. La rareté des sédiments et des matériaux pouvant être datés excluent toute interprétation fondée sur la stratigraphie. En s'appuyant sur plus de 1000 sites de stries, on croit que la région a connu quatre épisodes glaciaires pendant le Wisconsinien supérieur: 1 ) le premier mouvement, de faible importance, s'est fait vers le SE en provenance des Appalaches; 2) le deuxième écoulement glaciaire vers PE démontre la force des glaces laurentidiennes au nord du Nouveau-Brunswick; 3) le troisième mouvement glaciaire vers le NNE pourrait être une réaction à l'affaissement qui s'est produit dans la baie des Chaleurs; 4) le dernier mouvement multidirectionnel s'est fait à partir de calottes localisées pendant les derniers stades de la glaciation wisconsinienne. On explique l'absence des blocs erratiques dans le nord du Nouveau-Brunswick par un écoulement des glaces le long du chenal laurentien interrompant l'Inlandsis laurentidien s'écoulant vers le sud. Les débris glaciaires de fond (y compris les blocs erratiques du Bouclier) ont apparemment été tronqués et enlevés par un courant glaciaire oblique, épurant ainsi la glace qui pénétrait en Gaspésie, puis au Nouveau-Brunswick.Een Interpretatie van Laat-glaciale Ijsbewegingsindicaties in de Chaleur Bay Regio, Noord New Brunswick. De Kwartair geologische kartering van noord New Brunswick begon met de studies van Robert Chalmers aan het einde van de 19e eeuw. Sindsdien zijn verschillende pogingen gedaan om de glaciale geschiedenis van dit gebied te ontravelen en uiteindelijk zijn Chalmers ideeen herontdekt en aangepast aan moderne theorien en modellen van glaciale processen en isostasie. De afwezigheid van stratigrafische secties en de aanwezigheid van vêle glaciale erosieve en morphologische vormen heeft geleid tot de ontwikkeling van een "erosie-stratigrafie ". Deze informatie wordt gesteund door till lithologische en ges-teente orientatie studies. Het resultaat van dit gedetailleerde karterings project is de her-kenning van 4 verschillende ijs-bewegingen. Datering van deze gebeurtenissen is een probleem vanwege een gebrek aan dateer-bare materialen. Een eerste zuidoostelijke ijsbeweging is geregistreerd in het oostelijke deel van het gebied en in de Chaleur Coastal Plain. De tweede en sterkste gebeurtenis geeft een oostwaartse ijsbeweging te zien, die waarschijnlijk gedurende het gehele Wisconsinan (Weichselien) en mogelijk het gehele Pleistoceen van belang kan zijn geweest. Een derde ijsbeweging is in noord-oostelijke richt-ing in de Baie des Chaleurs. In een latere fase, lokale ijsbewegingen vonden plaats in verschillende richtingen vanaf de hooglanden en mogelijk vanuit Baie des Chaleurs. Er is een poging gedaan deze gebeurtenissen in een régionale context te plaatsen, waarin de interactie van de Laurentide Ice Sheet met het Appalachian Ice Complex en het concept van een Laurentian ijsstroomkanaal centraal staan

The high-velocity outflow in the proto-planetary nebula Hen 3-1475

The proto-planetary nebula Hen 3-1475 shows a remarkable highly collimated optical jet with an S-shaped string of three pairs of knots and extremely high velocities. We present here a detailed analysis of the overall morphology, kinematic structure and the excitation conditions of these knots based on deep ground-based high dispersion spectroscopy complemented with high spatial resolution spectroscopy obtained with STIS onboard HST, and WFPC2 [N II] images. The spectra obtained show double-peaked, extremely wide emission line profiles, and a decrease of the radial velocities with distance to the source in a step-like fashion. We find that the emission line ratios observed in the intermediate knots are consistent with a spectrum arising from the recombination region of a shock wave with shock velocities ranging from 100 to 150 km/s. We propose that the ejection velocity is varying as a function of time with a quasi-periodic variability (with timescale of the order of 100 years) and the direction of ejection is also varying with a precession period of the order of 1500 years.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Nebular emission lines in IRAS 17347-3139

We report the detection of nebular emission lines in the optical and mid-infrared spectra of IRAS 17347-3139, a heavily obscured OH/IR star which may be rapidly evolving from the AGB to the PN stage. The presence of emission lines is interpreted as a clear indication that the ionization of its circumstellar envelope has already started. This source belongs to the rare class of objects known as `OHPNe' displaying both OH maser and radio continuum emission. However, unlike the rest of stars in this class, prominent C-rich dust features are detected in its mid-infrared spectrum, which makes the analysis of this star particularly interesting.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, Proc. IAU Symp. 234, Planetary Nebulae in Our Galaxy and Beyond (3-7 Apr 2006), eds. M.J. Barlow & R.H. Mendez (Cambridge Univ. Press

Tsunamis and tectonic deformation at the northern Cascadia margin: A 3000 year record from Deserted Lake

Abstract: Three layers of sand occur within a sequence of muddy gyttja in a 3 m core recovered from Deserted Lake, which lies at the head of a fjord on the central west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The sedimentology and microfossil assemblages of these layers are consistent with deposition by tsunamis. Radiocarbon ages suggest that the tsunamis were generated by plate-boundary earthquakes at the Cascadia subduction zone about 2600, 1600 and 300 years ago. Diatom and protozoan contents of the gyttja layers indicate that relative sea level fell in the periods between tsunamis. The sea-level changes are probably a product of interseismic uplift of the North America plate margin. Post-tsunami diatom and protozoan assemblages are generally more marine than their pre-tsunami counterparts, suggesting that the study site subsided during earthquakes. Estimates of interseismic and coseismic deformation during one earthquake cycle indicate that less than half of the interseismic uplift was recovered during the earthquake, leading to cumulative, or permanent, uplift of the area

Geoheritage, a National Inventory in France

International audienceGood protection measures for geological heritage should begin with an inventory of geosites. In France, for example, a law enacted in 2002 grants formal recognition to the notion of geological heritage. An inventory and evaluation were then established on a region-by-region basis. By April 2007, the French Ministry of Environment launched the inventory programme for the nation’s geological heritage and the data are now being collected at a regional scale. The data are being gathered and homogenised, and then transferred to the French National Museum of Natural History for examination.The ratified site data are stored and available for public use on a website (http://inpn.mnhn.fr) in a similar structure to natural data that are also processed and stored (flora, fauna, ecosystems, habitats). Today, protecting global heritage is understood as a dynamic process. Instead of placing objects beneath a display case, the conservation approach is now a more modern, active effort, which facilitates access for knowledge and researc

Spitzer/IRS spectroscopy of high mass precursors to planetary nebulae

We present Spitzer/IRS observations of a small sample of heavily obscured IRAS sources displaying both the infrared and OH maser emission characteristic of OH/IR stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), but also radio continuum emission typical of ionized planetary nebulae (PNe), the so-called OHPNe. Our observations show that their mid-infrared spectra are dominated by the simultaneous presence of strong and broad amorphous silicate absorption features together with crystalline silicate features, originated in their O-rich circumstellar shells. Out of the five sources observed, three of them are clearly non-variable at infrared wavelengths, confirming their post-AGB status, while the remaining two still show strong photometric fluctuations, and may still have not yet departed from the AGB. One of the non-variable sources in the sample, IRAS 17393-2727, displays a strong [Ne II] nebular emission at 12.8 microns, indicating that the ionization of its central region has already started. This suggests a rapid evolution from the AGB to the PN stage. We propose that these heavily obscured OHPNe represent the population of high mass precursors to PNe in our Galaxy.Comment: To appear in The Astrophysical Journal Letters (scheduled in the 2007 September 1 issue

A survey for water maser emission towards planetary nebulae. New detection in IRAS 17347-3139

We report on a water maser survey towards a sample of 27 planetary nebulae (PNe) using the Robledo de Chavela and Medicina single-dish antennas, as well as the Very Large Array (VLA). Two detections have been obtained: the already known water maser emission in K 3-35, and a new cluster of masers in IRAS 17347-3139. This low rate of detections is compatible with the short life-time of water molecules in PNe (~100 yr). The water maser cluster at IRAS 17347-3139 are distributed on a ellipse of size ~ 0.2" x 0.1", spatially associated with compact 1.3 cm continuum emission (simultaneously observed with the VLA). From archive VLA continuum data at 4.9, 8.4, and 14.9 GHz, a spectral index alpha = 0.76 +- 0.03 is derived for this radio source, which is consistent with either a partially optically thick ionized region or with an ionized wind. However, the latter scenario can be ruled out on mass-loss considerations, thus indicating that this source is probably a young PN. The spatial distribution and the radial velocities of the water masers are suggestive of a rotating and expanding maser ring, tracing the innermost regions of a torus formed at the end of the AGB phase. Given that the 1.3 cm continuum emission peak is located near one of the tips of the major axis of the ellipse of masers, we speculate on a possible binary nature of IRAS 17347-3139, where the radio continuum emission could belong to one of the components and the water masers would be associated with a companion.Comment: Accepted by The Astrophysical Journal. 25 pages, 6 figure

Time-dependent ejection velocity model for the outflow of Hen 3--1475

We present 2D axisymmetric and 3D numerical simulations of the proto-planetary nebula Hen 3-1475, which is characterized by a remarkably highly collimated optical jet, formed by a string of shock-excited knots along the axis of the nebula. It has recently been suggested that the kinematical and morphological properties of the Hen 3-1475 jet could be the result of an ejection variability of the central source (Riera et al. 2003). The observations suggest a periodic variability of the ejection velocity superimposed on a smoothly increasing ejection velocity ramp. From our numerical simulations, we have obtained intensity maps (for different optical emission lines) and position-velocity diagrams, in order to make a direct comparison with the HST observations of this object. Our numerical study allows us to conclude that a model of a precessing jet with a time-dependent ejection velocity, which is propagating into an ISM previously perturbed by an AGB wind, can succesfully explain both the morphological and the kinematical characteristics of this proto-planetary nebula.Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics (accepted) (8 figures

HE 3-1475 AND ITS JETS

We present spectra and high-resolution images taken with HST, the NTT, the VLA, and the MPIA/ESO 2.2m of the emission-line star He 3-1475 which we suggest is a post-AGB star. The star is at the origin of a 15-arcsec-long structure containing symmetrically opposing bright knots. The knots have radial velocities of about 500 km/s from the center of He 3-1475 to the ends of the jets. HST snapshots show that the core of He 3-1475 is unipolar with a star at the SE end and the nebula fanning out toward the NW. VLA observations show the presence of OH masers, which are positioned parallel to the optical jets. A model is proposed that accounts for all of the observational data. This unusual object may link the OH/IR stars having extreme outflow velocities with highly bipolar planetary nebulae.Comment: 14 pages, uu-encoded postcript. 6 figures available on request from Matt Bobrowski ([email protected]