Search

Jesus College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, was founded in 1571 by Elizabeth I. The college has benefitted from parish patronages, with the right of advowsons, which have assisted the college's development. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the college held twenty such advowsons, including a relationship with Llandysul parish in Ceredigion (Cardiganshire) that was established in 1680 and survived until 1944. This study uses the college archive to provide an initial investigation into the historical connections before and since 1680, so raising awareness of the historical link with Llandysul and providing a framework for future research.

A field survey of wave-transported granite boulder deposits occurring at Batu Ferringhi on the north coast of the island of Penang, Malaysia, was undertaken to evaluate whether the boulders...

Study Objective There is a paucity of research on body image in pregnant and parenting youth (PPY). Study objectives were to examine: (1) profiles of PPY regarding body image, depression, and eating behaviors and any effects of age and pregnancy status on results; and (2) PPY perceptions of body image. Design, Setting, Participants, Interventions, and Main Outcome Measures Demographic data and scores from measures related to self-esteem, body esteem, eating behaviors, and depression were collected from 101 PPY from 2 urban centers. Two focus group sessions were held to further explore survey findings. Sessions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis. Results Participants (mean age, 19.8 years) reported a history of depression (79/101; 78.2%), anxiety (75/101; 74.3%), drug/alcohol abuse (45/101; 44.6%), and eating disorder (32/101; 31.7%). Parenting (nonpregnant; n = 64) participants had lower body esteem (P = .041) and more eating disorder behaviors (P = .026) compared with pregnant (n = 37) participants. A history of depression or eating disorder both independently increased risk for lower body esteem and self-esteem and higher depressive symptoms in pregnant youth. Four dominant themes emerged from qualitative data: (1) adapting to rapidly changing bodies; (2) inter-relationship between body image and mood; (3) added attention and perceptions of pressure to return to prepregnancy body size; and (4) reconciling change and striving to find a new normal. Conclusion This study highlights the importance of exploring past and current body image, mood, and eating disorder behavior in PPY for risk of current mental health issues. Future research exploring prepregnancy depression, eating disorder, body esteem, and depression in pregnant youth are needed.

Since the 1950s, it has become apparent that Radiolaria have significant biostratigraphical potential throughout Phanerozoic time, including the Late Neogene and Quaternary. Radiolarian biozonation schemes for this period have been developed, including a Standard Tropical Zonation, which illustrates the pan-oceanic application of radiolarian biostratigraphy to Pliocene–Quaternary sediments. The biostratigraphical resolution obtainable using Radiolaria is equivalent to other microfossil groups, such as planktonic foraminifera. The recognition of abundance events of Cycladophora davisiana, and of some other species, are an alternative radiolarian dating technique for the Pliocene–Quaternary, akin to dating sediment using oxygen stable isotope (δ18O) records and with similar resolution. A number of studies have used astronomical timescales, derived from orbitally tuning δ18O and gamma ray attenuation porosity evaluator (GRAPE) records, to provide ages for radiolarian biodatums. This approach should be adopted as a more accurate alternative to palaeomagnetic chronologies with their inherent flaws. This commentary concludes that Radiolaria are important microfossils and, as a group, continue to offer significant potential as a biostratigraphical tool in future studies of the marine Pliocene–Quaternary.

Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Hole 709C was drilled on Madingley Rise in the equatorial Indian Ocean. Thirteen radiolarian and diatom events were identified in the Pliocene to Early Pleistocene section studied. Five radiolarian zones could be recognized: Anthocyrtidium angulare, Pterocanium prismatium, Anthocyrtidium jenghisi, Stichocorys peregrina, and Phormostichoartus doliolum zones. The LAD of P. prismatium was found to be an unreliable indicator of the base of the A. angulare zone in Hole 709C and in other upwelling areas. Accordingly, the base of the A. angulare zone is redefined here by the FAD of A. angulare. The Phormostichoartus fistula zone, which normally separates the 5. peregrina and P. doliolum zones, could not be identified due to the scarcity of P. fistula. Standard tropical diatom Pliocene–Pleistocene zones and subzones were identified: Nitzschia reinholdii, Rhizosolenia praebergonii, and Nitzschia jouseae zones. The development of oxygen isotope calibrated dates enabled the dating of some radiolarian events: FAD A. angulare 1.65 Ma, LAD Theocorythium vetulum 2 Ma, LAD A. jenghisi 2.21 Ma, FAD Theocalyptra davisiana 2.33 Ma, FAD Theocorythium trachelium 2.33 Ma, and FAD Lamprocyrtis neoheteroporos 2.4 Ma.

Background and aims Phase III trials have shown that the addition of a taxane to cisplatin/5FU-based induction chemotherapy (TPF) improves response rates and overall survival in unresectable stage III/IV head and neck cancer. We sought to assess the tolerability, compliance and clinical outcomes of this treatment regime. Methods A retrospective study of patients treated within a single centre between September 2007 and November 2010. Toxicities were graded according to CTCAE version 3.0. Survival, distant metastasis and local control rates are expressed as percentages at two years using the Kaplan–Meier method. Results A total of 100 patients were identified (11% stage III, 86% stage IV) and 32% of patients were admitted as an emergency after TPF. The rate of neutropenic fever was 31%, this number fell to 9% when prophylactic G-CSF was used. In addition, 89% of patients underwent radical chemoradiation. Of these, 96% completed the full radiotherapy course. However, only 64% of patients received a minimum of two cycles of concurrent platinum chemotherapy. The two-year overall survival, metastasis free survival and local control rates were 62.6%, 88.5% and 73.3%, respectively. Conclusions TPF chemotherapy can be delivered safely in a non-trial cohort of patients. There is, however, a significant reduction in concurrent chemotherapy dose intensity. The long-term impact of this remains unclear.

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy is associated with changes in body shape that influence body image satisfaction. Body dissatisfaction during pregnancy is a concern because of the potential association with negative behaviours, such as unhealthy dieting, which have been linked to poor pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. This is of particular concern for pregnant youth as they are already at increased risk for medical complications. Body image dissatisfaction in pregnancy is also an important determinant of depressive symptoms in pregnancy and postpartum. Given that pregnant and parenting youth (PPY) have poorer mental health outcomes, including a high rate of both antenatal and postpartum depression, examining the relationship between body image and depression during pregnancy is particularly important. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to 1) examine psychological profiles of PPY regarding body image and related issues, 2) explore differences between younger and older PPY, and 3) compare psychological profiles of those who are pregnant versus not pregnant. DESIGN/METHODS: Data was collected from 75 PPY from 2 urban social service agencies via electronic questionnaires. Demographic data and scores from several validated self-report measures related to self-esteem, body esteem, eating disorder behaviours and depression were collected. Research ethics board approval was obtained prior to the onset of the study. RESULTS: Youth participants had a mean age of 19.6 years (SD=2.68); 29.3% (n=22) were pregnant at the time of the survey and 82.7 % (n=62) had at least 1 child. Youth reported a past history of depression (76.9%), anxiety (70.5%), drug/alcohol abuse (46.2%), and eating disorder (28.2%). Descriptive analyses revealed that PPY reported depression scores that were in the borderline clinical range (Edinburgh postnatal depression scale: mean 11.57, SD 6.26), whereas they scored within the relative normal range for all other psychological measures. There were no significant differences in any of the survey scores when comparing younger to (n=39, mean age 17.5 yrs) older participants (n=36, mean age 22 yrs); although when comparing pregnant (n=22) participants and non-pregnant (n=53) participants significant differences were found among scores of body esteem (t=-2.173, p=0.034) and eating disorder behaviours (t=2.713, p=0.008). CONCLUSION: This study adds to the very limited research regarding adolescents' experience with body image during motherhood and the postpartum years, and can inform future program development for pregnant teens and young mothers struggling with poor body image. Future research is needed to continue exploring how adolescent body image during pregnancy and postpartum may differ and how this affects maternal and child outcomes.

Google Earth is a web-based virtual globe that has seen increasing use over the past five years as a teaching tool and learning resource for geography, earth and environmental science students. Thi...

This paper reports on the creation of Open Educational Resources (OER) for climate change education as part of a Higher Education Academy (HEA)/Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)-funded initiative managed by HEA-GEES entitled The C-Change Project. A component-based approach has been adopted by the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at the University of Wales, Newport, which has contributed OER at different levels of learning object granularity. The learning objects comprise over 2000 photographs, 50 videos and a range of PowerPoint presentations that provide examples of how the smaller learning objects may be used in a particular learning context. The objects have been uploaded to a repository hosted by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), JorumOpen, and also to Web 2.0 platforms, such as Flickr, YouTube and Slideshare. We strongly advocate this component-based approach as it eases the distribution and sharing of the OER learning objects and reuse in different learni...

An unusual coarse, shelly sedimentary unit is found elevated above present mean sea level in a sheltered pocket embayment at Old Punt Bay in south-eastern Australia. The coarse sediments, diverse microfauna, and large shelly macrofauna of mixed affinity suggest that the deposit is the result of high-energy deposition. The deposit was previously thought to have been deposited 1000–1300 cal bp based on one shell dated using 14C and amino acid racemisation. However, additional 14C dating indicates a likely age of ∼2500 cal bp. Regardless of age constraints, the presence of rock-encrusting oyster shells and large articulated bivalves, suggests that the depositional event must have been capable of removing and transporting coarse sediments (rock clasts), bivalves, and oysters shells from a variety of seaward environments and depositing them with little abrasion, something storm waves are unlikely to do. The deposit may be tsunamigenic. If a tsunami origin is accepted, the new dating results indicate that it is possibly coeval with a tsunami event previously reported to have affected several other sites along the coast of New South Wales at c. 2900 cal bp. Consequently, this deposit provides evidence for the event at a new site and importantly, a tighter constraint on the likely date of the events occurrence. It further adds weight to the developing catalogue of palaeotsunamis that may have affected the south-eastern coast of Australia. Regardless of the deposit's origins, if viewed from a coastal planning perspective, this deposit indicates that this part of the coast has experienced large-scale overwash events in the past that if repeated, would be catastrophic. There are serious implications for risk management.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to test the validity of the curriculum auditing tool Sustainability Tool for Auditing University Curricula in Higher Education (STAUNCH©), which was designed to audit the education for sustainability and global citizenship content of higher education curricula. The Welsh Assembly Government aspires to incorporate sustainability across all sectors and required an audit of all higher education curricula within Wales. The paper also discusses responses to the auditing process, findings at an institutional and national level and proposes recommendations for improvements.Design/methodology/approachThe University of Wales, Newport, provides the case study to test the validity of the STAUNCH© software.FindingsThe quality and effectiveness of the curriculum content was not identified by the audit. The audit identified what the curriculum offered but did not necessarily reflect that studied by students. Modules offered on more than one course were awarded credit within the “cross‐cutting” criteria of the audit and this distorted the final results. The audit enabled curriculum managers to identify programmes of study which exhibited strengths and limitations in this area. Utilising a common auditing tool across the Welsh higher education sector allows for future developments to be collective and collaborative.Practical implicationsA general consensus of opinion from a network of Welsh higher education institutions regarding any future use of this auditing tool is currently one of uncertainty as far as any validity the tool may bring to driving the sustainability agenda forward. Alterations to the STAUNCH© software and auditing process are proposed if possible future audits are to be more effective. Nevertheless, within a relatively short time span education for sustainable development and global citizenship within Welsh higher education is gaining momentum. Amendments have been made to university documentation, staff‐training initiatives developed and the potential impact of curriculum development in this area is beginning to be realised.Originality/valueThis paper discusses the application of a new sustainability curriculum‐auditing tool and the validity of the tool in progressing sustainability within the higher education sector.

Introduction Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a recognised complication of adjuvant systemic chemotherapy which leads to hospitalisation, treatment delays and dose reductions which ultimately may compromises treatment efficacy and patient (pt) outcomes. The use of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is recommended within clinical guidelines as routine prophylaxis if the chemotherapy regimen is likely to cause FN rates of >20%.For regimens associated with FN rates of 10-20%, pt may increase the risk.(Aapro et al, 2006). Following the publication of Jones et al (2006), the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre (BWOSCC) adopted TC chemotherapy as an option for patients with intermediate/high risk breast cancer as an alternative to anthracyline based regimens. This was primarily for patients who had major co-morbidities precluding anthracycline use, had prior exposure to anthracylines or who were deemed unable to tolerate a protracted course of treatment for clinical reasons. The study by Jones et al (2006) described an overall FN rate of 5% with an increased rate of FN (8%) in patients > 65 yrs, with a 4% rate in those Results 5/51 pts (9.8%) had an episode of FN, 2 pts at cycle 1, with 1 pt at cycles 2, 3 and 4. No pt had more than 1 episode of FN.22 pts (43%) received primary G-CSF prophylaxis whilst 29pts (57%) did not. The rate of FN in the primary prophylactic group was 9% (2/22 pts) and 10% (3/29pts) in those who didn't receive G-CSF. In the G-CSF group, 1 patient required a dose reduction and 5 patients had dose delays whilst 5 patients had a dose reduction and 3 required dose delays in the non G-CSF group. Conclusion The overall rate of FN observed was approximately 10% and for a substantial proportion of patients, primary prophylaxis with G-CSF is not required. Results of ongoing data collection will be presented with regard to patient characteristics, outcomes, and indications for G-CSF primary prophylaxis in this group of patients. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-10-25.

Google Earth is a web-based virtual globe, launched in 2005, that offers significant potential as a teaching tool and a learning resource for undergraduate geography, earth and environmental science students, as well as other disciplines. In 2008, 56 undergraduate geography students were surveyed regarding their prior use of Google Earth to inform the delivery of classes that used Google Earth. Surprisingly, 25% of students had not previously used Google Earth and, amongst those that had, only 23% had used it in academic study, and only 11% had used it in a taught class. Differences between first and final year students were evident, with 40% of first year, but only 18% of final year, students having used Google Earth previously for academic study, possibly reflecting time since the launch, and the differential use of Google Earth in schools, colleges and university. Although the situation is likely to change rapidly, tutors may not assume all students have used Google Earth prior to university, a...

There are a number of indicators of academic engagement with the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) that have been used in previous studies, such as analysing journal publications. However, this snapshot survey uses attendance at higher education conferences as a measure. Attendances were analysed at three conferences in the UK between July‐December 2008. The country in which each conference delegate was based and (for Wales only) their institution, was recorded. The results indicate that there were 991 attendances including delegates from 33 countries. The Annual Conference of the Society for Research into Higher Education had the most international delegates (from 32 countries), compared to two conferences run by (or in association with) the Higher Education Academy, both with delegates from seven countries. Delegates from English institutions dominated all conferences, followed by Wales, Australia, Scotland and Ireland. It is estimated that to raise conference attendance by Welsh academics to the same proportion as English academics, an increase of 25 per cent would be required. Of the 11 Welsh institutions analysed, the four ranked top are all regarded as teaching‐focused universities, whilst the tail comprises three universities regarded as research‐intensive. The four remaining Welsh institutions did not have any representation at any of the conferences studied. Although limitations of this study are discussed, the data may be used to inform strategy for further engagement with SoTL in Wales and elsewhere.

Meteorological tsunamis, or meteo-tsunamis, are long-period waves that possess tsunami characteristics but are meteorological in origin, although they are not storm surges. In this article we investigate the coast of southern Britain-the English Channel, the Bristol Channel, and the Severn Estuary-for the occurrence of tsunami-like waves that, in the absence of associated seismic activity, we recognize as meteo-tsunamis. The passage of squall lines over the sea apparently generated three of these events, and two seem to have been far-traveled, long-period waves from mid-North Atlantic atmospheric low-pressure systems. The remaining three wave events appear to have been associated with storms that, among possible explanations, may have induced large-amplitude standing waves-such as seiches-or created long-period waves through the opposition of onshore gale-force winds and swells with high ebb tidal current velocities. This coastal hazard has resulted in damage and loss of life and should be considered in future coastal defense strategies and in beachuser risk assessments.

The British coast is not considered at particular risk from tsunami, a view that is supported by a number of recent government reports. However, these reports largely ignore some written historic records that suggest southern Britain has experienced a number of events over the past 1000 yrs. This study briefly assesses these records and recognises four groups of events: 1) sea disturbance and coastal floods in southeast England linked to earthquakes in the Dover Straits (e.g. 1382 and 1580), 2) far-field tsunami reaching the coast of the British Isles, for example, from earthquakes along the Azores-Gibraltar Fault Zone offshore Portugal (e.g. 1755), 3) tsunami associated with near-coastal low magnitude earthquakes (e.g. 1884 and 1892), and 4) a flood event in AD 1014 that has been linked to comet debris impact. The seismogenic events range from minor water disturbance, through seismic seiching, to small and "giant" waves, suggesting near-coastal, low-magnitude, shallow earthquakes may be capable of triggering disturbance in relatively shallow water, as supported by similar occurrences elsewhere, and that the British tsunami risk requires a more careful evaluation.

Understanding the contribution of high-energy events (e.g. storms, tsunami) to coastal evolution is currently much debated. Field investigations in North Wales on Anglesey and the Lleyn Peninsula have identified four sites where imbricated boulder trains occur that are discriminators of wave characteristics. Clast analysis indicates that storm wave heights (c. 20 m), in excess of known extremes (5

Sand and gravel deposits from the Atlantic coasts of southwest Britain, Brittany and western Ireland are identified as potential indicators of historic (post-AD 1000) ocean-sourced high-energy events, such as storm surges and tsunami. This is an important historic period as it includes the climatic perturbations of the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age, and also seismogenic events, such as the Lisbon tsunami of 1755. Ten new sites are identified from various coastal settings and dated using eight new radiocarbon dates alongside previously published data. Generally, sites do not appear to record multiple high-energy events, suggesting that either only the most extreme and/or recent events are registered. A number of radiocarbon dates from marine shell yield modern ages when corrected for the marine reservoir effect. Rather than necessarily indicating recent deposition, this may reflect a poor understanding of terrestrial carbon input into coastal and estuarine waters, and the practice of applying broad regional Δ R values at the local scale. Two groupings of radiocarbon dates are recognised; a Medieval Group and a Post-Medieval Group , which might reflect events within known climatic perturbations and/or tsunami occurrences. These events may include the Lucia Flood of 1287, the All Saint's Day Flood of 1570, the 1607 Flood, the Great Storm of 1703, and the Lisbon tsunami. Some older (pre-AD 1000) deposits indicate the potential to construct frequency/magnitude records of high-energy events throughout the Holocene. Data presented here support the view that salt marshes within the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary were completely eroded away early in the 17th century.

Undertaking independent project work in overseas locations, and especially in developing countries, can be both a rewarding and challenging experience. Challenges encountered by students in their h...

On January 30, 1607, a massive wave from the ocean surged up Bristol Channel in the United Kingdom, flooding more than 500 km2 of lowland along 570 km of coast. It killed 2000 people and is considered Britain’s worst natural disaster on land. The wave occurred on a fine day and surprised inhabitants. Contemporary descriptions of the event have many of the characteristics of accounts of recent catastrophic tsunamis. Geomorphic evidence for tsunamis in the channel can be found in the form of transported and imbricated boulders, bedrock sculpturing on coastal platforms and ramps, and, at isolated locations, wholesale erosion of the coastal landscape. Hydrodynamic calculation of the height of the tsunami and flow velocities can be derived from boulder dimensions. Tsunami wave height increased from 4 m in the outer Bristol Channel to more than 6 m within the inner Severn Estuary. Theorized flow velocities range between 11.8 and 18.1 m s−1, increasing up the estuary. Under topographic enhancement, thes...

Laser granulometry and the analysis of foraminiferal assemblages have been used to characterize the full sequence of the largely-exposed, c . 10m-thick Wentlooge Formation present on the Welsh coast of the Severn Estuary in southwest Britain. Resting on Pleistocene deposits, it consists of six, unequal, transgressive-regressive cycles composed of silts of estuarine salt-marsh origin that grade up into radiocarbon-dated peats recording highest-intertidal to supratidal organic marshes. Deposition began c . 8200 years ago and was concluded by wetland embanking in either Roman or medieval times. Two cycles record marine transgression across terrestrial surfaces (Pleistocene/raised bog), one registers transgression in the context of continuous intertidal sedimentation, and three express the resumption of deposition on intertidal erosion surfaces which, in one case, is equivalent to a seventh transgressive-regressive cycle developed at a neighbouring locality. The silt units show vertical patterns of grain size (distance from effective sources of silt) and foraminiferal assemblage (height in tidal frame) appropriate to the circumstances of transgression-regression and are largely concordant with a model of salt-marsh morphodynamics in the Severn Estuary. The cycles express the response of the sedimentary surface to regional and local controls that are argued to change in relative importance from one combination to another. That these combinations varied over the Severn Estuary Levels in the mid Holocene — a time of episodic peat formation in southern Britain and mainland northwest Europe generally — is demonstrated by a brief analysis of dated peat occurrences in different parts of the extensive outcrop.

Holocene silts (salt marshes) and highest intertidal–supratidal peats are superbly exposed on a 15 km coastal transect which reveals two laterally extensive units of annually banded silts (Beds 3, 7) associated with three transgressive–regressive silt–peat cycles (early sixth–early fourth millennium BC). Bed 3 in places is concordantly and gradationally related to peats above and below, but in others transgresses older strata. Bed 7 also grades up into peat, but everywhere overlies a discordance. The banding in Bed 3 at three main and two minor sites was resolved and characterized texturally at high-resolution (2.5/5 mm contiguous slices) using laser granulometry (LS230 with PIDS) and a comprehensive scheme of data-assessment. Most of Bed 3 formed very rapidly, at peak values of several tens of millimetres annually, in accordance with modelled effects of sea-level fluctuations on mature marshes (bed concordant and gradational) and on marshes growing up after coastal erosion and retreat (bed with discordant base). Using data from the modern Severn Estuary, the textural contrast within bands, and its variation between bands, points to a variable but overall milder mid-Holocene climate than today. The inter-annual variability affected marsh dynamics, as shown by the behaviour of the finely divided plant tissues present. Given local calibration, the methodology is applicable to other tidal systems with banded silts in Britain and mainland northwest Europe.

Understanding the North African response to natural climatic variability has become an important research focus in recent years, especially considering the uncertain influence of anthropogenic warming to present and future climate changes. Historic climatic perturbations are associated with changes in Atlantic circulation, which in turn have been linked to water resource and land degradation issues in North Africa. In this paper, Late Quaternary climate–ocean changes affecting western North Africa are investigated to provide a temporal contribution to the debate. Major and trace element palaeoenvironmental proxies recorded in a radiocarbon dated sediment core collected under an upwelling cell, offshore Cap Blanc (Mauritania), are analysed. Element groups representing terrigenous (Saharan dust) and biogenic (marine plankton) input, and ocean-bottom redox conditions, indicate that the region is sensitive to previously documented North Atlantic climate–ocean perturbations, such as Bond Cycles, Heinrich and Dansgaard-Oeschger events. Additionally, the African Humid Period is recognized and related to an intensification of the African monsoon system that enhanced North East Trade Wind driven upwelling. It appears from this study that North Atlantic sea-surface temperature strongly influences North African precipitation throughout the Late Quaternary, with Atlantic sea-surface warming associated with enhanced North African aridity.

Grain-size characteristics (by laser granulometry) and foraminiferal assemblages have been established for silts accumulated in five, dissimilar tidal palaeochannels of mid or late Holocene age in the Severn Estuary Levels, representative of muddy tidal systems. For purposes of general comparison, similar data were obtained from a representative active tidal inlet in the area, but all of these channels have been subject to human interference and are not relied upon as a model for environmental interpretation. Although the palaeochannel deposits differ substantially in their bedding characteristics and stratigraphical relationships from the level-bedded salt-marsh platform and mudflat deposits with which they are associated, and although the channel environment is distinctive morphologically and hydraulically, no critical textural differences could be found between the channel deposits and the associated facies. Similarly, no foraminiferal assemblages distinctive of a tidal channel were encountered. Instead, the assemblages compare with those from mudflats and salt-marsh platforms. It is concluded that the sides of the subfossil channels carried some vegetation, as was observed to be the case in the modern inlet. An alternative approach is necessary if concealed palaeochannel deposits are to be recognized in muddy systems from limited numbers of subsurface samples. Although the palaeochannels afforded no characteristic textural signature, they yield transverse grain-size patterns pointing to coastal movements during their evolution. Concave-up trends suggest outward coastal building, whereas con vex-up ones point to marsh-edge retreat.

Planktonic foraminifera and radiolaria have been analysed in a Late Quaternary (40–0 ka) sediment sequence from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Hole 658C located under a coastal upwelling system near Cap Blanc, offshore northwest Africa, in order to document the palaeoceanographic history of the area. Temporal variations in species abundance and faunal assemblage analysis reveal a tripartite phased sequence of palaeoceanographic change through the Late Quaternary. Phase 1 spans 40–14.5 ka and is characterised by moderate upwelling, but Heinrich event 2 is distinguished as a brief episode of strengthened upwelling. Phase 2 begins with a change in a number of variables at ca. 14.5 ka and extends to ca. 5.5 ka. This phase is characterised by a general strengthening of upwelling, but may be subdivided into three minor phases including (a) the recognition of the Younger Dryas, marked by a temporary reduction in upwelling strength, followed by (b) an intensification of upwelling, and (c) upwelling and high productivity between 8 and 5.5 ka. This phase of upwelling corresponds with maximum Holocene cooling, possibly triggered by the collapse of the Laurentide ice sheet. Phase 3 extends from 5.5 to 0 ka and is characterised by weak upwelling and significant calcite dissolution. These phases are related to climatic events, particularly the African Humid Period (AHP), which is coincident with Phase 2. The AHP is characterised by increased precipitation, linked to an intensification of the African monsoon that enhances North East Trade Wind-driven coastal upwelling and is associated with the expansion of continental vegetation across North Africa. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This chapter documents the distribution of very large single coastal boulders from recent storm waves along the most exposed shorelines of Inishmore and Inishmaan as well as from the more protected coast of inner Galway Bay, as well as signatures of the movement process in the form of striations or impact marks on rock and boulders. A comparison of the size and transport distances of freshly moved boulders, old boulders moved recently, and the minimum size of old boulders not recently moved although within the surf belt allows to find a threshold for storm wave power on boulder dislocation. For an objective judgement, field documents from other exposed rocky coastlines of the world are also presented.

Over the past five decades, authorized low-level discharges from coastal nuclear facilities have released significant quantities of artificial radionuclides into the marine environment. In northwest Europe, the majority of the total discharge has derived from nuclear reprocessing activities at Sellafield in the United Kingdom and COGEMA-La Hague in France. At the Sellafield site, a significant amount of the discharges has been trapped in offshore fine sediment deposits, and notably in local coastal and estuarine sediments, and much research has been focused on understanding the distribution, accumulation, and reworking of long-lived radionuclides in these deposits. In contrast, there are few high-resolution published data on the vertical distribution of radionuclides in fine-grained estuarine sediments near, and downstream of, COGEMA-La Hague. This paper therefore examines the vertical distribution of a range of anthropogenic radionuclides in dated salt marsh cores from two estuaries, one adjacent to, and the other downstream of, the COGEMA-La Hague discharge point (the Havre de Carteret at Barneville-Carteret and the Baie de Somme, respectively). The radionuclides examined show a vertical distribution which predominantly reflects variations in input from COGEMA-La Hague (albeit much more clearly at Barneville-Carteret than at the Baie de Somme site), and Pu isotopic ratios are consistent with a La Hague, rather than weapons' fallout, source. Because of sediment mixing, the marshes apparently retain an integrated record of the La Hague discharges, rather than an exact reproduction of the discharge history. Sorption of radionuclides increases in the order 90Sr < 137Cs < 60Co < 239,240Pu, which is consistent with Kd values reported in the literature. In general, the radionuclide activities observed at the sites studied are low (particularly in comparison with salt marsh sediments near the Sellafield facility), but are similar to those found in areas of fine sedimentation in the central Channel. These marshes are not major sinks for discharged reprocessing wastes.

Combining stratigraphical, sedimentological and biofacial (foraminifera) approaches, a high-resolution, time-constrained study has been made of a mid-Holocene ( c. 5800–4900 14C yrs BP) estuarine succession ( c. 2 m) continuously exposed for 1.75 km between two major, late-Holocene palaeochannels. The succession displays great lateral variation in bed thickness and facies; bounded by two laterally extensive peats, it consists of silts split by an impersistent, thin peat. A depositional hiatus gradually rises southwestward through the silts from the top of the lower extensive peat to the base of the higher bed, dividing the succession into two depositional sequences. Sequence I, restricted to the southwestern part of the section, ranges from the lower peat to the sharp top of a thin, laterally impersistent, silty peat (cockle-bed peat). It presents vertically symmetrical patterns of texture and environment, broadly from organic marsh and high salt marsh to middle marsh and back to high marsh. Sequence II, overlying the depositional break, is best developed in the northeastern and central parts of the section, beginning in the latter with an erosively based silt (cockle bed) with a life-assemblage of Cardium edule, Hydrobia ventrosa and ostracods. Environmentally, Sequence II is vertically symmetrical only in the northeastern section, where a high salt marsh was succeeded by a low/middle marsh followed by a high marsh overlain by an organic marsh. Asymmetrical patterns of texture and environment prevail in the central section, where the cockle bed appears. Through annually banded deposits that progressively coarsen, a mudflat or low marsh gave way upward to a middle marsh and finally to high and then organic marshes. Sequence I registers a rise of tide level lasting several hundred radiocarbon years. It appears to represent an estuarine marsh with a depositional edge which overlooked to the northeast a largely exposed shelf formed by the lower extensive peat. Sequence II arose much more rapidly, during a further tide-level rise that lasted only 100–200 years. A new marsh formed in the northeastern part of the section, but a wide, brackish, rapidly infilling embayment lay between this marsh and the previous one to the southwest. Differential autocompaction strongly influenced the rate of accumulation of both sequences, creating bed thickness variations of twofold or more. The mid-Holocene estuary experienced subtle, local geographical changes in addition to the gross changes indicated by the silt-peat alternation.

Modern intertidal foraminifera were investigated in a mangrove-lined microtidal distributary channel of the Barron River Delta (Cairns, Queensland, Australia). A monospecific assemblage of Trochammina inflata characterises saltmarsh environments (Biozone 1), whilst the more regularly inundated tidal flat is dominated (≥55%) by Ammonia beccarii (Biozone 2). Within the tidal flat environment, two foraminiferal subdivisions can be recognised; a high tidal flat assemblage (Biozone 2a) characterised by ≥70% Ammonia beccarii and low diversity, and a low tidal flat assemblage (Biozone 2b) with 55–65% Ammonia beccarii and high diversity (due to the settling out of small allochthonous species transported into the estuary from shelf environments). Foraminiferal distributions are also compared with tide levels estimated in the field. It appears approximately that Biozone 1 occurs between High Water and Mean High Water (MHW), Biozone 2a between MHW and Mean Tide Level (MTL), and Biozone 2b between MTL and Low Water. From this preliminary study, it is concluded that foraminifera possess significant potential in palaeoenvironmental studies of tropical Australian estuaries as indicators of intertidal environments, and also tidal levels.

Quaternary deposits are described from well-exposed sections in cliffs at Plage de Mezpeurleuch, Finistere, Brittany (France). The general lithostratigraphic sequence comprises Holocene perched dune sand, calcrete and palaeosol overlying Weichselian head and coarse clastic palaeobeach units attributed to the last interglacial (Eemian–isotope substage 5e). A lower and an upper palaeobeach, separated by a thin head deposit, are reported resting on an irregular palaeorock platform eroded in Hercynian granite. From a comparison with modern coastal environments a palaeoenvironmental interpretation of the palaeobeach deposits is made. Erosionally bounded facies of the lower palaeobeach, are considered to be a transgressive sequence preserved by drowning associated with a rapid rise in relative sea-level. Its subsequent abandonment is attributed to a relative sea-level fall, which allowed a terrestrial environment to develop briefly. Facies of the upper palaeobeach however indicate a prograding shoreline developed during a prolonged period of relatively stable sea-level. These sea-level observations are in good agreement with other evidence for a brief widespread intra-Eemian cold event. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Several high-resolution proxy environmental records have been obtained for the last 35 kyr from ODP Hole 658C, a well-studied site ca. 200 km oA Cap Blanc, NW Africa. The collective assessment based on the marine proxies (U K 0 37 SST, contents of TOC and chlorins, Upwelling Radiolarian Index and the percentage of Florisphaera profunda), surprisingly indicates that the last glacial maximum (LGM) was characterized by warmer sea surface temperature (SST), weaker upwelling, and lower marine productivity, compared with the preceding older glacial and subsequent deglaciation periods. Of the terrigenous proxies, the mean grain size of the non-carbonate fraction and the terrigenous alkane content indicate that wind strength and aridity were high. The weaker upwelling at the 658 site during the LGM may have resulted from changes in the strength and direction of the wind systems and/or shifts in the position and geometry of the upwelling cell. # 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two perched dune systems are investigated in the Baie d'Audierne (Finistere, Brittany, northwest France). A maximum age of 4545–4160 cal. yr bp for the onset of sand accretion is provided through radiocarbon (14C) analysis of an organic-rich basal palaeosol, corresponding closely to deceleration, but before stabilisation, of regional Holocene relative sea levels (RSLs). Molluscan analysis through the dune sand indicates an initial bare sand or sparsely vegetated surface, subsequently maturing and colonised by scrub vegetation, and finally returning to more open dune grassland conditions. These data suggest a three-stage Perched Dune Development Model (PDDM), which may be applicable to perched dunes on at least a regional scale: (1) initial sand sheet inundation as RSL rises; (2) stabilisation of RSL allowing dune to mature; and (3) sea-level stabilisation stimulates cliff formation, perching and progressive landward retreat of the dune shore. This study recognises that perched dunes hold greater potential for establishing chronologies for regional Holocene dune development than the more widely studied lowland dune systems, where evidence for early sand inundation may be obscured or lost by modest rises in sea level.

The taphonomy of neritic diatoms entrained into, and transported offshore by, the Peru and South Equatorial currents may represent fluctuations in surface current and southeast trade wind strength in the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP). This proposition was investigated through the construction of a neritic/pelagic diatom ratio (NPDR) which is compared with other palaeoceanographic proxies analysed through the Olduvai timeslab (ca. 2.0–1.75 Ma) at Ocean Drilling Program sites 677, 847 and 851: a new sea-surface temperature (SST) record for all the sites is derived from a diatom transfer function, and upwelling and bioproductivity records are provided by previously published radiolarian and CaCO3 data, respectively, for site 677 only. Results indicate a consistent relationship between proxy records, suggesting that the presence of neritic diatoms in pelagic sediments are most likely attributable to surface current and trade wind variability. The NPDR has the potential of becoming an extremely useful micropalaeontological tool in multi-proxy palaeoceanographic studies of coastal upwelling systems. The palaeoceanographic history of the Olduvai timeslab in the EEP, as indicated by previous studies, is supported and enhanced by the NPDR and new SST data reported here. The early and late periods of the Olduvai timeslab are characterised by strong upwelling, low SST, and high bioproductivity, and increased trade wind strengths inferred from the NPDR. The mid-Olduvai (1.80–1.90 Ma) appears to have been a period of weaker upwelling, higher SSTs, lower bioproductivity and decreased trade wind strength as indicated by the NPDR. The NPDR is important as it increases our understanding of the relationship between palaeoceanographic processes and trade wind strength in the region.