Core handling, transportation and processing for the South Pole ice core (SPICEcore) project

An intermediate-depth (1751 m) ice core was drilled at the South Pole between 2014 and 2016 using the newly designed US Intermediate Depth Drill. The South Pole ice core is the highest-resolution interior East Antarctic ice core record that extends into the glacial period. The methods used at the South Pole to handle and log the drilled ice, the procedures used to safely retrograde the ice back to the National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility (NSF-ICF), and the methods used to process and sample the ice at the NSF-ICF are described. The South Pole ice core exhibited minimal brittle ice, which was likely due to site characteristics and, to a lesser extent, to drill technology and core handling procedures

Climate reconstructions from ice cores: New techniques to understand the information preserved in the South Pole ice core

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2020Polar ice cores preserve information about past changes in climate and ice dynamics. Studying changes that have occurred in the past improves understanding of Earth's climate system. Large climate changes, such as the most recent glacial-interglacial transition, provide opportunities to detect a strong signal in changes within the climate system. In this thesis I develop new techniques for interpreting information from ice-core records in order to create robust reconstructions of past climate change. The South Pole ice-core record spans the last 54 ka, encompassing the entirety of the last glacial-interglacial change. I make use of high-resolution data from the South Pole ice core to apply new techniques for interpreting ice-core water-isotope data. I use a novel inverse approach to simultaneously constrain records of temperature, accumulation, and ice-sheet vertical strain from multiple ice-core measurements. The temperature reconstruction improves upon previous ice-core estimates for deglacial warming in East Antarctica and reconciles a longstanding discrepancy between data and model estimates of Antarctic temperature change. I use a simple climate model to examine the physical processes underlying large changes in climate. This thesis improves our understanding of Antarctic climate change over glacial-interglacial transitions

Sexual Minority Status and Child Maltreatment: How Do Health Outcomes among Sexual Minority Young Adults Differ Due to Child Maltreatment Exposure?

Background: Although prior studies indicate heightened health and well-being concerns for sexual minority (SM) youth, as well as for youth exposed to child maltreatment in the general population, it is unclear whether there are differences in these outcomes among SM youth that have and have not experienced maltreatment. Objective: Our aim was to investigate the unique associations between child maltreatment and emerging health outcomes beyond the impact of SM status. Data was drawn from a nationally representative sample of 648 SM youth in the U.S. in grades 7–12 during the 1994–1995 school year. Methods: Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, descriptive statistics and ordinary least squares regression models were used to investigate differences in SM young adult outcomes by experiences of child maltreatment. Results: Maltreatment among SM individuals showed strong associations with poor adult mental health outcomes (e.g. depression, anxiety, isolation, and suicidal ideation) and fairly strong negative associations with general health outcomes (e.g., heart and lung problems) when compared to their non-maltreated peers. Associations with maltreatment and behavioral health and socioeconomic outcomes were not as strong for this population, which suggests the effects of maltreatment for SM youth are most salient in regards to mental and physical health. Conclusions: Findings provide insight into what areas of health and well-being should be focused on when working with SM youth that have been maltreated, and offer evidence to encourage further exploration of the outcomes of SM maltreated individuals in young adulthood

Understanding How Domestic Abuse Is Associated With Greater Depressive Symptoms in a Community Sample of Female Primary Care Patients: Does Loss of Belongingness Matter?

This study examined the relationship between domestic abuse, belongingness, and depressive symptoms in a community sample of 71 female primary care patients. As expected, domestic abuse was associated with greater depressive symptoms. Results from conducting mediation analyses, including bootstrapping techniques, provided strong convergent support for a model in which the hypothesized effect of domestic abuse on depressive symptoms in women is mediated by a loss of belongingness. Noteworthy, even after controlling for content overlap between measures of belongingness and depressive symptoms, the mediation model remained significant. Some implications of the present findings are discussed

Understanding the Relationship Between Domestic Abuse and Suicide Behavior in Adults Receiving Primary Care: Does Forgiveness Matter?

This study examined the interrelation of domestic abuse, forgiveness of self, forgiveness of others, and suicide behavior in a community sample of 101 patients receiving primary care from a clinic in the southeastern United States. As expected, it was found that more frequent experience of domestic abuse was associated with more frequent suicide behavior. Results from conducting mediation analyses and using bootstrapping techniques provided support for a model in which the relationship between domestic abuse and suicide behavior was accounted for by forgiveness of self, but not by forgiveness of others. The article concludes with a discussion of some of the implications of the present findings for practice and the study\u27s limitations

Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS) Motives and Loneliness as Predictors of Eating Disturbances in Female College Students: Interpersonal Context Matters

The purpose of this study was to examine behavioral inhibition system and behavioral activation system (BIS/BAS) motives and loneliness as predictors of eating disturbances (viz., drive for thinness, bulimic symptoms, & body dissatisfaction) in female college students. Three hundred and one female college students (ages ranging from 18–33 years) completed measures assessing for BIS/BAS motives, loneliness, and eating disturbances. Results of conducting regression analyses indicated that BIS/BAS motives, especially BIS motives, accounted for significant amounts of variance across all three eating disturbance outcomes examined (R2 range = .10 to .13). Moreover, the inclusion of loneliness as a predictor of eating disturbances was found to account for additional unique amounts of variance (ΔR2 range = .02 to .06), over what was accounted for by BIS/BAS motives. These findings indicate that in addition to the potential role of biologically linked variables like BIS/BAS motives, it is important to also consider the contributions of important psychosocial variables like loneliness for understanding eating disturbances among female college students

Is Doubling Up on Positive Future Cognitions Associated with Lower Suicidal Risk in Latinos?: A Look at Hope and Positive Problem Orientation

In the present study, we examined hope and positive problem orientation as additive predictors of suicidal risk, namely, hopelessness and suicide behavior, in a sample of 155 (37 males and 118 females) Latinos. Consistent with expectations, we found hope and positive problem orientation to be associated with lower suicidal risk. In addition, results of conducting hierarchical regression analyses indicated that hope accounted for significant variance in both indices of suicidal risk. Moreover, the inclusion of positive problem orientation as a predictor was found to account for additional unique variance in both indices of suicidal risk, beyond what was accounted for by hope. Finally, results of conducting additional analyses indicated a significant Hope × Positive Problem Orientation interaction effect in accounting for suicidal risk. Some implications of the present findings are discussed

A Pleistocene palaeovegetation record from plant wax biomarkers from the Nachukui Formation, West Turkana, Kenya

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