364 research outputs found
Submarine slides from the walls of Smeerenburgfjorden, NW Svalbard
The steep slopes of glacially eroded fjord walls are potential sites for slope failure and mass wasting (Syvitski et al. 1987). Slides of
sedimentary material are relatively common, but require that sediment is present on fjord sides, often deposited from glaciers before and
during their retreat through fjord systems. This debris then fails to produce slides that run out onto fjord floors and leave scars on fjord sidewalls.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the Geological Society of London via https://doi.org//10.1144/M46.2
Mapping submarine glacial landforms using acoustic methods
The mapping of submarine glacial landforms is largely dependent on marine geophysical survey methods capable of imaging the seafloor and sub-bottom through the water column. Full global coverage of seafloor mapping, equivalent to that which exists for the Earth's land surface, has, to date, only been achieved by deriving bathymetry from radar altimeters on satellites such as GeoSat and ERS-1 (Smith & Sandwell 1997). The horizontal resolution is limited by the footprint of the satellite sensors and the need to average out local wave and wind effects, resulting in a cell size of about 15 km (Sandwell et al. 2001). A further problem in high latitudes is that the altimeter data are extensively contaminated by the presence of sea ice, which degrades the derived bathymetry (McAdoo & Laxon 1997). Consequently, the satellite altimeter method alone is not suitable for mapping submarine glacial landforms, given that their morphological characterization usually requires a much finer level of detail. Acoustic mapping methods based on marine echo-sounding principles are currently the most widely used techniques for mapping submarine glacial landforms because they are capable of mapping at a much higher resolution
Penetration of Antarctic subglacial lakes by VHF electromagnetic pulses: Information on the depth and electrical conductivity of basal water bodies
EB Ford revisited: assessing the long-term stability of wing-spot patterns and population genetic structure of the meadow brown butterfly on the Isles of Scilly
This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Data files of wing spot sizes and AFLP genotypes available from the Dryad Digital Repository: http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.j7v42.Understanding selection in the wild remains a major aim of evolutionary ecology and work by Ford and colleagues on the meadow brown butterfly Maniola jurtina did much to ignite this agenda. A great deal of their work was conducted during the 1950s on the Isles of Scilly. They documented island-specific wing-spot patterns that remained consistent over about a decade, but patterns on some islands changed after environmental perturbation. It was suggested that these wing-spot patterns reflected island-specific selection and that there was little migration between islands. However, genetic studies to test the underlying assumption of restricted migration are lacking and it is also unknown whether the originally described wing-spot patterns have persisted over time. We therefore collected female butterflies from five of Ford's original study locations, including three large islands (St Mary's, St Martin's and Tresco) and two small islands (Tean and St Helen's). Wing-spot patterns had not changed appreciably over time on three of the islands (two large and one small), but were significantly different on the other two. Furthermore, analysis of 176 amplified fragment length polymorphisms revealed significant genome-wide differentiation among the five islands. Our findings are consistent with Ford's conclusions that despite the close proximity of these islands, there is restricted gene flow among them.Heredity advance online publication, 2 November 2016; doi:10.1038/hdy.2016.94.We thank the Genetics Society for a fieldwork grant (to DJH) that funded the collection trip and DJH thanks Mike Johnson for sparking interest in this area. SWB is supported by the Australian Research Council and a Ramsay Fellowship, NW by a Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship and NERC and DJH by the Leverhulme Trust
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Scott Polar Research Institute Arctic Airborne Radio-Echo Sounding Datasets: Canadian Arctic 2000
This data set contains radar sounder profiles from the SPRI 100 MHz ice-penetrating radar instrument over Devon and Ellesmere islands in the Canadian Arctic (CA). Along with the radar profile data, the archive includes derived and ancillary data, plus software code produced for acquisition and working up of data. The data were collected under funding from a UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) grant (GR3/12469) to Prof. J. A. Dowdeswell. Please consult the 'MetadataCA2000.pdf' file for a detailed description of the dataset and its contents.Funding: The collection of these data was funded by NERC grant GR3/12469 to J.A. Dowdeswell, as well as by grants from the Meteorological Service of Canada (CRYSYS program) to M.J. Sharp. Further funding (to J.A. Dowdeswell) for development of the dataset was provided by the NERC Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling, UK, and the EU SPICE Project
The Johannesburg cardiac rehabilitation programme
Cardiac rehabilitation has become a generally accepted mode of treatment for patients suffering from coronary artery disease. The Johannesburg cardiac rehabilitation programme has started in 1982 and has rapidly grown to become one of the largest programmes in southern Africa. This paper describes the 387 patients admitted to the unit l;Ietween June 1986 and July 1988 and evaluates the effects of a combined exercise training and lifestyle modification programme. The mean age on admission was 55 years for males and 58 years for females. Most patients were from social classes I and 11. Myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass graft and a combination of both were the most common reasons for admission (35,4%. 23% and 21,2% respectively). On admission 72,9% of patients were smokers, 26,3% had hypertension and 34,3% had hypercholesterolaemia. A 50% drop-out rate within 12 months of starting the programme was noted. An increase in peak oxygen uptake, weight and skinfold thickness reduction, and improvement in the lipogram were seen after 6 months in patients who complied well with the programme. Cardiac rehabilitation is a secondary preventive strategy that can complement traditional medical and surgical therapies
Timing, rates, and causes of death in a large South African tuberculosis programme.
BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) mortality remains high across sub-Saharan Africa despite integration of TB and HIV/ART programmes. To inform programme design and service delivery, we estimated mortality by time from starting TB treatment. METHODS: Routinely collected data on TB treatment, vital status, and the timing and causes of death, were linked to cardio-respiratory autopsy data, from 1995-2008, from a cohort of male platinum miners in South Africa. Records were expanded into person-months at risk (pm). RESULTS: 4162Â TB episodes were registered; 3170 men were treated for the first time and 833 men underwent retreatment. Overall, 509 men died, with a case fatality of 12.2% and mortality rate of 2.0/100Â pm. Mortality was highest in the first month after starting TB treatment for first (2.3/100Â pm) and retreatment episodes (4.8/100Â pm). When stratified by HIV status, case fatality was higher in HIV positive men not on ART (first episode 14.0%; retreatment episode 26.2%) and those on ART (12.0%; 22.0%) than men of negative or unknown HIV status (2.6%; 3.6%). Mortality was also highest in the first month for each of these groups. Mortality risk factors included older age, previous TB, HIV, pulmonary TB, and diagnostic uncertainty. The proportion of deaths attributable to TB was consistently overestimated in clinical records versus cardio-respiratory autopsy. CONCLUSIONS: Programme mortality was highest in those with HIV and during the first month of TB treatment in all groups, and many deaths were not caused by TB. Resource allocation should prioritise TB prevention and accurate earlier diagnosis, recognise the role of HIV, and ensure effective clinical care in the early stages of TB treatment
Marginal Fluctuations of a Svalbard Surge-Type Tidewater Glacier, Blomstrandbreen, since the Little Ice Age: A Record of Three Surges
© 2016 Regents of the University of Colorado. Previous advances and retreats of Blomstrandbreen within the cold period known as the Little Ice Age, between approximately 1400 and 1920, are relatively well documented. The seafloor characteristics associated with these glacier fluctuations, and their importance for the identification of similar surge-type tidewater glaciers, are discussed. We use detailed multibeam-bathymetric data acquired within NordvÄgen, the marine area offshore of Blomstrandbreen, to provide a new understanding of the style and pattern of deglaciation around BlomstrandhalvÞya since Blomstrandbreen's neoglacial maximum. Glacial landforms on the seafloor of NordvÄgen comprise overridden moraines, glacial lineations, terminal moraines, and annual recessional moraines. Crevasse-fill ridges, which are often regarded as a characteristic landform of surging tidewater glaciers, are present on only restricted areas of NordvÄgen. Significantly, this study shows that large terminal surge moraines and numerous crevasse-fill ridges may not always be well developed in association with glacier surges, with implications for the identification of surges in the geological record. Using historical observations, aerial photographs, and satellite imagery of Blomstrandbreen, we have correlated former ice-marginal positions with mapped submarine landforms. Three surge events occurred during a pattern of overall retreat, with a spacing of about 50 years between active advance phases; this represents a relatively short quiescent phase for Svalbard glaciers. Average retreat rates of 10-50 m yr-1 are typical of the quiescent phase of the surge cycle, whereas surge advances vary from 200 m to over 725 m
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Submarine Moraines in Southeast Greenland Fjords Reveal Contrasting Outlet-Glacier Behavior since the Last Glacial Maximum
Knowledge of the past behavior of the outlet glaciers of Southeast (SE) Greenland is necessary to understand and model spatial differences in the response of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) to climatic changes. Here we use bathymetric data to map the distribution of more than 50 major moraines in SE Greenland fjords. Inner-fjord moraines are widespread along the SE Greenland margin, occurring in 65% of the surveyed fjords. We identify, for the first time, nine midfjord moraines that span the approximately 150-km-long eastern margin of the JulianehÄb Ice Cap. In contrast, midfjord moraines are generally absent from the deeper and wider fjords of the SE GIS. The variable distribution of midfjord moraines along the SE Greenland margin reveals contrasting behavior of the SE GIS and the eastern JulianehÄb Ice Cap during the last deglaciation, which probably reflects differences in fjord geometry and exposure to ocean heat
Subglacial Water Flow Over an Antarctic PalaeoâIce Stream Bed
The subglacial hydrological system exerts a critical control on the dynamic behavior of the overlying ice because its configuration affects the degree of basal lubrication between the ice and the bed. Yet, this component of the glaciological system is notoriously hard to access and observe, particularly over timescales longer than the satellite era. In Antarctica, abundant evidence for past subglacial water flow over former ice-sheet beds exists around the peripheries of the ice sheet including networks of huge channels carved into bedrock (now submarine) on the Pacific margin of West Antarctica. Here, we combine detailed bathymetric investigations of a channel system in Marguerite Trough, a major palaeo-ice stream bed, with numerical hydrological modeling to explore subglacial water accumulation, routing and potential for erosion over decadal-centennial timescales. Detailed channel morphologies from remotely operated vehicle surveys indicate multiple stages of localized incision, and the occurrence of potholes, some gigantic in scale, suggests incision by turbulent water carrying a significant bedload. Further, the modeling indicates that subglacial water is available during deglaciation and was likely released in episodic drainage events, from subglacial lakes, varying in magnitude over time. Our observations support previous assertions that these huge bedrock channel systems were incised over multiple glacial cycles through episodic subglacial lake drainage events; however, here we present a viable pattern for subglacial drainage at times when the ice sheet existed over the continental shelf and was capable of continuing to erode the bedrock substrate
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