Stable Isotope Composition Of Perennial Ice In Caves As An Aid To Charaterizinging Ice Cave Types

Stable isotope studies of perennial ice from western North American ice caves suggest that three main types can be defined: cold trap, permafrost, and cold zone. Some complex cave systems may comprise two or more types. While 14 caves were sampled from the region, in this study, 9 definitive sites were examined in more detail where they exemplified classic perennial ice features: massive ice, hoar frost, ice stalagmites and so on. Stable isotopes of the ice (d18O and d2H) assist in the understanding the origin of the freezing moisture, whether from direct snow (cold trap), moist summer air (permafrost) or from humid air within the cave (cold zone). Furthermore, delineating the complex systematics of cave ice formation is vitally important if it is to be used (or rejected) as a proxy climate record

Cave And Climate Change: Educating The Public At Rats Nest Cave, Alberta, Canada

Rats Nest Cave is a Provincial Historic Site whose mandate is to present its natural history to the public. In addition to a suite of interpretive messages, and relevant to this conference’s topic, we have addressed diverse climate change over the geological history of the cave. We start with the cave-hosting rock and the fossils it contains, to its origin along a thrust fault, ending with its enlargement and secondary mineralization during the Quaternary glaciations (the latter having been dated by radiometric methods). We have undertaken a program of speleothem remediation which, visible to the public, serves to reinforce the conservation and sustainability message emphasizing the importance of caves to society

An isotope study of water bodies along a traverse of southwestern Canada

The 18O and D content of natural waters from southwestern Canada have been used in helping to characterize the regional hydrologic cycle. The isotope data correlate with four major physiographic systems; each one being readily identified by the gradient of δ-value with distance from the coast. In general, mountainous regions to the west exhibit negative gradients, whereas east of the Great Divide the slope is positive. Comparison of precipitation data from the Olympic Mountains and Vancouver Island with that of the Fraser Valley, indicate that vapour is modified by marine evaporation prior to passing over Vancouver. However, the isotopic composition of precipitation falling between Vancouver and the Great Divide can be interpreted tentatively in terms of a single-stage Rayleigh distillation process. Data east of the Great Divide that do not fall on the Rayleigh curve suggest either evapotranspiration effects or mixing of weather systems derived from other sources

The Sodom Tradition in Romans 1:18–32

Many commentators have made suggestions as to the major allusion in Romans 1:18–32, with recent examples including Adam in Genesis 1–2 and decline of civilization narratives. This article proposes instead that the dominant tradition underlying this passage of the letter is that of Sodom. Yet rather than configuring the discussion as an example of how one or more texts have influenced another text, in this case Romans, it is argued that we must consider how traditions such as this would have been mediated to an audience that was largely illiterate. This suggests that the appropriate model lies in the processes of collective memory rather than the practice of intertextuality. A survey of relevant material in Israelite and Christ-follower writings is then conducted with an emphasis on how the character and fate of Sodom were remembered, understood, and utilized in a residually oral culture. An examination of the argument of Romans 1:18–32 in the light of this discussion reveals so many elements of the collective memory of Sodom as to justify the view that it is the dominant tradition in this passage. The concluding section of the article situates this result in relation to Paul's communicative strategy in the letter