Glacial stratigraphy and micromorphology of the Pine Point Pb-­‐Zn mining district, Northwest Territories

This investigation aims to gain a better understanding of the glacial history of the Pine Point Mining district, Northwest Territories, by examining the sedimentological properties of the glacial sediments including, geochemical analysis, heavy mineral concentrate analysis, clast macro-­‐fabrics, pebble lithologies, and micromorphological investigation. Four till units were identified, and three were associated with identified erosional bedrock features and streamlined landforms in the area, indicating a minimum of three ice flow directions. Sedimentological properties suggest that these units were all Type-­B tectomict/mélange till, emplaced as part of a soft subglacial deformable bed. The lack of ice-­‐marginal advance and retreat sequences within the studied till, suggests the Middle Wisconsinan Laurentide Ice margin was likely north and west of the Pine Point area, as opposed to along the margin of the Canadian Shield and Western Sedimentary Basin where it has been suggested to have existed.

Individual difference factors and men's attraction to female body features /

Existing research on attraction to body features has suggested that men show general preferences for women with lower waist-to-hip ratios (WHR), larger breasts, and slender body weights. The present study intended to expand on this research by investigating several individual difference factors and their potential contribution to variation in what men find attractive in female body features. Two hundred and seventy-three men were assessed for sex-role identity, 2D:4D digit ratios (a possible marker of prenatal exposure to androgens, and thus masculinization), physical attractiveness, early sexual experiences (as indices of early sexual conditioning), and early family attitudes toward body features, as well as their current preferences for WHR, breast size, weight, and height in women. For WHR, as predicted, physical attractiveness, early sexual experiences, and lower (more masculine) right-hand 2D:4D ratios significantly predicted current preferences for more feminine (lower) WHR. Early sexual experiences significantly predicted later preferences for breast size; in addition, more masculine occupational preferences and lower (more masculine) left-hand 2D:4D ratios predicted preferences for larger breasts. Participants' height, education level, Unmitigated Agency (masculinity) scores, and early sexual experiences significantly predicted current preferences for height. Finally, early sexual experiences significantly predicted current preferences for weight. The results suggest that variation in preferences for women's bodily features can be uniquely accounted for by a number of individual difference factors. Strengths and weaknesses of the study, along with implications for future research, are discussed.

The surficial geology, sedimentology and geochemistry of the late glacial sediments and Paleozoic bedrock in the Campbellford area, Ontario, with special reference to the Dummer Complex /

The Dummer Complex extends 180 km along the Precambrian - Paleozoic contact from Tamworth to Lake Simcoe. It is composed of coarse, angular Paleozoic clasts in discontinuous, pitted, hummocky deposits. Deposits are usually separated by bare or boulder strewn bedrock, but have been found in the southern drumlinized till sheet. Dummer Complex deposits show rough alignment with ice-flow. Eskers cross-cut many of the deposits. Dummer sediment subfacies are defined on the basis of dominant coarse grain size and lithology, which relate directly to the underlying Paleozoic formation. Three subglacial tills are identified based on the degree of comminution and distance of transport; the immature facies of the Dummer Complex; the mature facies of the drumlinized till sheet and; the submature facies which is transitional. Carbonate geochemistry was used for till-bedrock correlation in various grain sizes. Of the 3 Paleozoic formations underlying the Dummer Complex, the Gull River Fm. is geochemically distinctive from the Bobcaygeon and Verulam Formations using Ca, Mg, Sr, Cu, Mn, Fe and Na. The Bobcaygeon Fm. and Verulam Fm. can be differentiated using Ca and the Sr/Ca ratio. The immature facies from 1.0 phi and finer is dominated by the non-carbonate, long distance transported component which decreases slightly downice. The submature till facies contains more long distance material than the immature facies. Sr and Mn can be used to correlate the Gull River immature till facies to the underlying bedrock the other subfacies could not be distinguished from each other or their respective source formation. This method proved to be ineffective for sediments with greater than 35% non-carbonate component, due to leaching of elements by the dissolving acid.The Dummer Complex is produced subglacially , as the compressional ice encounters the permeable Paleozoic carbonates. The increased shear strength of the ice and pore pressures in the carbonates results in the basal ice zones becoming debris ladden. Cleaner ice overrides the basal debris . laden dead ice which then acts as the glacier bed. During retreat, the Simcoe lobe stagnates as flow is cut-off by the Algonquin Highlands.

Palynology of late-glacial and postglacial sediments in Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada, as related to the Great Lakes history /

This investigation comprises three parts: (1) the source, mechanism of transport, and distribution of pollen, spores and other palynomorphs in Georgian Bay bottom sediments and a comparison of these data with the contemporary vegetation, (2) the relative significance of fluvial transportation of pollen and spores, and (3) the late- and postglacial history of vegetational and climatic changes in the Georgicin Bay region. Modem pollen and spore assemblages in Georgian Bay do reflect the surrovinding vegetation when preservation and pollen production by the different species are considered and accounted for. Relative pollen percentage and concentration isopoll patterns indicate that rivers contribute large quantities of pollen and spores to Georgian Bay. This is further substantiated by large amounts of pollen and spores which were caught in traps in the Moon, Muskoka, and Nottawasaga Rivers which flow into Georgian Bay. The majority of pollen and spores caught in these traps were washed into the rivers by surface water runoff and so reflect the vegetation of the watershed in a regional sense. In a 12.9 metre long sediment core from northeastern Georgian Bay the relative percentage and absolute pollen concentrations allow correlation of Georgian Bay Lake phases with climatic and forest history. Four distinct pollen zones are distinguished: zone GB IV which is the oldest, reflects the succession from open spruce woodland to boreal forest; zone GB III represents a period of pine-mixed hardwoods forests from about 10,000 to 7,500 years ago. A pine-maplehemlock association dominated in zone GB II, although during the culmination of postglacial warming about 4,000 to 5,000 years ago the Georgian Bay forests had a more deciduous character. Zone GB I clearly shows European man's disturbance of the forest by logging activities.

The micromorphology of Paleoseismic soft sediment deformation structures in glacial deposits from three sample sites in Scotland /

The nature of this research is to investigate paleoseismic deformation of glacial soft sediments from three sampling sites throughout the Scottish Highlands; Arrat's Mills, Meikleour and Glen Roy. The paleoseismic evidence investigated in this research will provide a basis for applying criteria to soft sediment deformation structures, and the trigger mechanisms that create these structures. Micromorphology is the tool used in this to investigate paleoseismic deformation structures in thin section. Thin section analysis, (micromorphology) of glacial sediments from the three sampling sites is used to determine microscale evidence of past earthquakes that can be correlated to modem-day events and possibly lead to a better understanding of the impact of earthquakes throughout a range of sediment types. The significance of the three sampling locations is their proximity to two major active fault zones that cross Scotland. The fault zones are the Highland Boundary Fault and the Great Glen Fault, these two major faults that parallel each other and divide the country in half Sims (1975) used a set of seven criteria that identified soft sediment deformation structures created by a magnitude six earthquake in Cahfomia. Using criteria set forth by Sims (1975), the paleoseismic evidence can be correlated to the magnitude of the deformation structures found in the glacial sediments. This research determined that the microstructures at Arrat's Mill, Meikleour and Glen Roy are consistent with a seismically induced origin. It has also been demonstrated that, even without the presence of macrostructures, the use of micromorphology techniques in detecting such activity within sediments is of immense value.

Sedimentology and micromorphology of drumlin sediments at Chimney Bluffs State Park, New York, United States of America

The drumlin sediments at Chimney Bluffs, New York appear to represent a block-inmatrix style glacial melange. This melange comprises sand stringers, lenses and intraclasts juxtaposed in an apparently massive diamicton. Thin section examination of these glacigenic deposits has revealed microstructures indicative of autokinetic subglacial defonnation which are consistent with a deformable bed origin for the diamicton. These features include banding and. necking of matrix grains, oriented plasma fabrics and the formation of pressure shadows at the long axis ends of elongate clasts. Preservation of primary stratification within the sand intraclasts appears to suggest that these features were pre-existing up-ice deposits that were frozen, entrained, then deposited as part of a defonning till layer beneath an advancing ice sheet. Multi-directional micro-shearing within the sand blocks is thought to reflect the frozen nature of the sand units in such a high strain environment. It is also contended that dewatering of the sediment pile leading to the eventual immobilisation of the defonning till layer was responsible for opening sub-horizontal fissures within the diamicton. These features were subsequently infilled with mass flow poorly sorted sands and silts which were subjected to ductile defonnation during the waning stages of an actively deforming till layer. Microstructures indicative of the dewatering processes in the sand units include patches of fine-grained particles within a coarser-grained matrix and the presence of concentrated zones of translocated clays. However, these units were probably confined within an impermeable diamicton casing that prevented massive pore water influxes from the deforming till layer~ Hence, these microstructures probably reflect localised dewatering of the sand intraclasts. A layered subglacial shear zone model is proposed for the various features exhibited by the drumlin sediments. The complexity of these structures is explained in terms of ii superposing deformation styles in response to changing pore water pressures. Constructional glaciotectonics, as implied by the occurrence of sub-horizontal fissuring, is suggested as the mechanism for the stacking of the sand intraclast units within the diamicton. The usefulness of micromorphology in complimenting the traditional sedimentology of glacigenic deposits is emphasised by the current study. An otherwise massive diamicton was shown to contain microstructures indicative of the very high strain rates expected in a complexly deforming till layer. . It is quite obvious from this investigation that the classification of diamictons needs to be re-examined for evidence of microstructures that could lead to the re-interpretation of diamicton forming processes. RESUME Le pacquet de sediments drumlinaire de Chimney Bluffs, New York, represent un "bloc-en-matrice" genre de melange glaciale. Des structures microscopique comprennent l'evidence pour la defonnation intrinseque attribuee a l'origine lit non resistant du drumlin. PreselVation des structures primaires au coeur des blocs arenaces suggere que ceux sont des depots preexistant qui furent geles, entraines et par la suite sedimentes au milieu d'une couche de debris sous-glaciaires en voie de deformation. Des failles microscopiques a l'interieur des blocs arenaces appuient aussi l'idee d'un bloc cohesif (c'est-a-dire gele) au centre d'un till non resistant. Des implications significatives s'emergent de cette etude pour les conditions sous-glaciaire et les processus de la formation des drumlin.

Is more information always good? : investigating the impact of website interface features on e-retailer's sales performance

A number of frameworks have been suggested for online retailing, but still there exists little consensus among researchers and practitioners regarding the appropriate amount of information critical and essential to the improvement of customers' satisfaction and their purchase intention. Against this backdrop, this study contributes to the current practical and theoretical discussions and conversations about how information search and perceived risk theories can be applied to the management of online retailer website features. This paper examines the moderating role of website personalization in studying the relationship between information content provided on the top US retailers' websites, and customer satisfaction and purchase intention. The study also explores the role played by customer satisfaction and purchase intention in studying the relationship between information that is personalized to the needs of individual customers and online retailers' sales performance. Results indicate that the extent of information content features presented to online customers alone is not enough for companies looking to satisfy and motivate customers to purchase. However, information that is targeted to an individual customer influences customer satisfaction and purchase intention, and customer satisfaction in tum serves as a driver to the retailer's online sales performance.

Micromorphology of Last Glacial Maximum Grounding line sediments around the Antarctic Peninsula

Sediments recovered from seven Last Glacial Maximum grounding lines sites, around the Antarctic Peninsula, were analyzed using micromorphology. This is the first evidence that grounding line sediments from around the Antarctic Peninsula have complex deformational histories and subglacial origins. It was determined that grounding zone wedge contain multiple units, or diamicton layers, with homogenized boundaries. The multiple diamicton units / layers are due to the accretionary formation of a grounding line wedge. All the sediments were deposited via deformation, and continual reincorporation, homogenization of lower diamicton layers by upper diamicton layers produced what macroscopically appeared to be a single massive diamicton unit. The morainal ridge that was sampled, alternatively, is composed of a single unit, or diamicton layer, that was subglacial in origin and believed to have been pushed out to form a ridge that was subsequently deformed via glacial push.

QUANTIFICATION AND EXTRACTION OF SURFACE FEATURES FROM DIGITAL TERRAIN MODELS

Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) are important in geology and geomorphology, since elevation data contains a lot of information pertaining to geomorphological processes that influence the topography. The first derivative of topography is attitude; the second is curvature. GIS tools were developed for derivation of strike, dip, curvature and curvature orientation from Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). A method for displaying both strike and dip simultaneously as colour-coded visualization (AVA) was implemented. A plug-in for calculating strike and dip via Least Squares Regression was created first using VB.NET. Further research produced a more computationally efficient solution, convolution filtering, which was implemented as Python scripts. These scripts were also used for calculation of curvature and curvature orientation. The application of these tools was demonstrated by performing morphometric studies on datasets from Earth and Mars. The tools show promise, however more work is needed to explore their full potential and possible uses.