(Un) Resolved contradictions in the Late Pleistocene glacial chronology of the Southern Carpathians - new samples and recalculated cosmogenic radionuclide age estimates

Application of cosmogenic nuclides in the study of Quaternary glaciations has increased rapidly during the last decade owing to the previous absence of direct dating methods of glacial landforms and sediments. Although several hundred publications have already been released on exposure age dating of glacial landforms worldwide, very few studies targeted the Carpathians so far (Kuhlemann et al, 2013a; Makos et al., 2014; Reuther et al, 2004, 2007; Rinterknecht et al. 2012).There are many unresolved or contradictory issues regarding the glacial chronology of the Romanian Carpathians. Recently, some attempts have been made to develop an improved temporal framework for the glaciations of the region using cosmogenic 10Be dating (Reuther et al. 2004, 2007, Kuhlemann et al. 2013a). However, these studies made the picture even more confusing because the local last glacial maximum, for instance, apparently occurred in asynchronous timing compared to each other and also to other dated glacial events in Europe (Hughes et al, 2013).This situation is even more interesting if we take into account that the local glacial maximum tends to agree with the global LGM derived from the Eastern Balkans (Kuhlemann et al. 2013b), while the penultimate glaciation seems to significantly overtake the LGM advance over the Western Balkans (Hughes et al. 2011).The primary candidate reasons to resolve these discrepancies are methodological, e.g. insufficient number of samples (one sample/landform) ignoring geological scatter of the data and the application of different half-lives, production rates and scaling schemes during the calculation of exposure ages. Systematic methodological uncertainties in computing exposure ages from measured nuclide concentrations have a significant impact on the conclusions concerning correlations of exposure-dated glacier chronologies with millennial scale climate changes (Balco, 2011). The changes in glacial timing generated by only using the most recent constants for the exposure age calculations has not been considered in the most recent review on the timing of the LGM (Hughes et al., 2013).Main objective of our study is to utilize the potential offered by the cosmogenic in situ produced 10Be dating to disentangle the contradictions in the available Southern Carpathian Late Pleistocene glacial chronology (Kuhlemann et al, 2013a; Reuther et al, 2004, 2007). We recalculate 10Be data published by Reuther et al. (2007) in accordance with the new half-life and production rate of 10Be. Besides, a new sample set has been collected to establish a precise chronological framework supported by in-situ exposure dating of several additional moraine generations

Navigating the Paradox of Fear: Collaborative Research Exploring Resettlement and Vulnerability with Displaced Women in Colombia

In April of 2008, the Colombian Constitutional Court issued a report based on women\u27s testimonials that identified gender-specific risks associated with forced displacement as result of armed conflict. This study explores the coping strategies employed by Colombian women to address socio-economic vulnerability and improve living conditions during resettlement in Bogotá. Specifically, the research tracks the process of adaptation during the struggle to achieve economic stability. The findings suggest that a prevailing culture of fear influences multiple aspects of adjusting to the city and constricts the participants\u27 access to new social networks. Lessons gathered from the participants using collaborative anthropological methods have important implications for aid donors who aim to support this vulnerable population. The study is timely because the Colombian government has made progressive attempts to support the internally displaced people, however there has been little qualitative research on the perception of this population, specifically mothers, as to whether this support is reaching them

Relief evolution of the Quadrilatero Ferrifero (Minas Gerais, Brazil) by means of (Be-10) cosmogenic nuclei

This paper investigates the evolution of the relief within the so-called Iron Quadrangle (Quadrilatero Ferrifero) in Minas Gerais, Brazil, by means of quantification of erosion processes, which affected the principal rock types of the region. The method used is based on measurement of in-situ produced cosmogenic Be-10 concentration in fluvial sediments. The results indicate that the regional landscape evolution is controlled by lithotypes: the most resistant areas correspond to substrates developed on itabirites and quartzites (long-term erosion rates between 0.29 to 2.35 m/My), whereas the most fragile ones developed on schistphyllitcs (long-term erosion rates between 7.95 to 11.82 m/My) and granite-gneisses (long-term erosion rate at 12.92 m/My)

Revised deglaciation history of the Pietrele-Stanisoara glacial complex, Retezat Mts, Southern Carpathians, Romania

International audience\textcopyright 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUAAlthough geomorphological evidences of Quaternary glaciations of the Southern Carpathians were extensively studied and discussed, the limited number of chronological studies resulted in poor and controversial knowledge on the age of glaciations and deglaciation of the area. We use new and recalculated in situ produced 10Be surface exposure ages of glacial landforms to shed light on the age of the maximum glacial extent and the glacier oscillations during the last deglaciation process on the northern side of the Retezat Mountains. According to our data, the maximum ice extent documented by preserved moraines occurred around 21.0−1.5+0.8 ka, coincident with the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The deglaciation process during the Lateglacial was characterized by two glacial advances at 18.6−0.8+0.9 and 16.3−0.6+0.6 ka. Inferred stabilization date of the penultimate glacial stage at 15.2−0.8+0.7 ka was closely followed by the abrupt warming at the onset of the Bølling/Allerød documented by a local chironomid-based temperature reconstruction. The last small glacier advance was dated to 13.5−0.4+0.5 ka. These recessional/readvance phases agree with other European glacial chronologies

Tectonic and climatic control on terrace formation: Coupling in situ produced 10Be depth profiles and luminescence approach, Danube River, Hungary, Central Europe

International audience\textcopyright 2015 Elsevier Ltd.The terrace sequence of the Hungarian part of the Danube valley preserves a record of varying tectonic uplift rates along the river course and throughout several climate stages. To establish the chronology of formation of these terraces, two different dating methods were used on alluvial terraces: exposure age dating using in situ produced cosmogenic 10Be and luminescence dating. Using Monte Carlo approach to model the denudation rate-corrected exposure ages, in situ produced cosmogenic 10Be samples originated from vertical depth profiles enabled the determination of both the exposure time and the denudation rate. Post-IR IRSL measurements were carried out on K-feldspar samples to obtain the ages of sedimentation.The highest terrace horizon remnants of the study area provided a best estimate erosion-corrected minimum 10Be exposure age of \textgreater700 ka. We propose that the abandonment of the highest terrace of the Hungarian Danube valley was triggered by the combined effect of the beginning tectonic uplift and the onset of major continental glaciations of Quaternary age (around MIS 22). For the lower terraces it was possible to reveal close correlation with MIS stages using IRSL ages. The new chronology enabled the distinction of tIIb (~90 ka; MIS 5b-c) and tIIIa (~140 ka; MIS 6) in the study area. Surface denudation rates were well constrained by the cosmogenic 10Be depth profiles between 5.8 m/Ma and 10.0 m/Ma for all terraces. The calculated maximum incision rates of the Danube relevant for the above determined \textgreater700 ka time span were increasing from west (\textless0.06 mm/a) to east (\textless0.13 mm/a), toward the more elevated Transdanubian Range. Late Pleistocene incision rates derived from the age of the low terraces (~0.13-0.15 mm/a) may suggest a slight acceleration of uplift towards present

Integration of new and revised chronological data to constrain the terrace evolution of the Danube River (Gerecse Hills, Pannonian Basin)

Terrace ages deduced from diverse geochronological records yielded inconsistent data in the Danube valley in Hungary. The problem of discrepancies in the different chronological datasets has to be resolved before the Quaternary tectonic and climatic processes leading to valley incision and terrace formation may be properly evaluated. To establish a more robust chronology of the Danube valley in Hungary, new cosmogenic nuclide- (⁠10Be depth profiles, ⁠26Al/⁠10Be burial durations and burial depth profile) and luminescence-based (pIRIR⁠290) terrace ages were acquired and compared to revised paleontological and published U/Th and magnetostratigraphic data. All the applied geo-chronometers led to concordant terrace ages, with the exception of the U/Th method applied on travertine deposits covering terraces. U/Th ages predating the last interglacial manifest a bias towards younger ages, and so they were ignored in relation to the quantification of terrace ages. As a result, terrace ages from the Late Pliocene to Late Pleistocene were settled. With regard to data from the Middle Pleistocene onwards, the combination of diverse methodologies led to a tighter bracketing of terrace ages than would be possible using a single dating method. The modelling of cosmogenic ⁠26Al and ⁠10Be concentrations enabled to derive surface denudation rates and their combination with paleontological data also allowed us to decide between diverse landscape evolution scenarios

Age and date for early arrival of the Acheulian in Europe (Barranc de la Boella, la Canonja, Spain)

The first arrivals of hominin populations into Eurasia during the Early Pleistocene are currently considered to have occurred as short and poorly dated biological dispersions. Questions as to the tempo and mode of these early prehistoric settlements have given rise to debates concerning the taxonomic significance of the lithic assemblages, as trace fossils, and the geographical distribution of the technological traditions found in the Lower Palaeolithic record. Here, we report on the Barranc de la Boella site which has yielded a lithic assemblage dating to ,1 million years ago that includes large cutting tools (LCT). We argue that distinct technological traditions coexisted in the Iberian archaeological repertoires of the late Early Pleistocene age in a similar way to the earliest sub-Saharan African artefact assemblages. These differences between stone tool assemblages may be attributed to the different chronologies of hominin dispersal events. The archaeological record of Barranc de la Boella completes the geographical distribution of LCT assemblages across southern Eurasia during the EMPT (Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition, circa 942 to 641 kyr). Up to now, chronology of the earliest European LCT assemblages is based on the abundant Palaeolithic record found in terrace river sequences which have been dated to the end of the EMPT and later. However, the findings at Barranc de la Boella suggest that early LCT lithic assemblages appeared in the SW of Europe during earlier hominin dispersal episodes before the definitive colonization of temperate Eurasia took place.The research at Barranc de la Boella has been carried out with the financial support of the Spanish Ministerio de Economı´a y Competitividad (CGL2012- 36682; CGL2012-38358, CGL2012-38434-C03-03 and CGL2010-15326; MICINN project HAR2009-7223/HIST), Generalitat de Catalunya, AGAUR agence (projects 2014SGR-901; 2014SGR-899; 2009SGR-324, 2009PBR-0033 and 2009SGR-188) and Junta de Castilla y Leo´n BU1004A09. Financial support for Barranc de la Boella field work and archaeological excavations is provided by the Ajuntament de la Canonja and Departament de Cultura (Servei d’Arqueologia i Paleontologia) de la Generalitat de Catalunya. A. Carrancho’s research was funded by the International Excellence Programme, Reinforcement subprogramme of the Spanish Ministry of Education. I. Lozano-Ferna´ndez acknowledges the pre-doctoral grant from the Fundacio´n Atapuerca. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Electroadhesive Technologies for Prosthesis Applications

Prostheses currently in research, commercial, and patent literature currently lack the performance capabilities required to efficiently carry out daily tasks. The underlying cause of this is the reduced functionality of many conventional transmissions when scaled down to fit in a prosthesis. Electroadhesives have promise to be a great substitution form many components in transmissions including locking and clutching mechanisms. This project researched state of the art electroadhesive designs as well as their optimization and implementation. Specifically, to determine what materials and electrode geometries achieve our desired functionality as well as optimizing these components parametrically. This research alongside other design drivers informed the design of an electroadhesive device that is to be implemented into a prosthesis.NAhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/176730/1/Electroadhesive_Technologies_for_Prosthesis_Applications_-_Enrico_Braucher.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/176730/2/Braucher_Design_Expo_Poster_-_Enrico_Braucher.pd

Valley downcutting in the Ardennes (W Europe): Interplay between tectonically triggered regressive erosion and climatic cyclicity

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