Investigation of the Quaternary sediments of the southeast Baffin Island continental shelf using acoustic data supplemented by sample controls (grabs and cores).

First published in 1985, Quaternary Environments represents the culmination of Quaternary research in the region of Baffin Island, Baffin Bay and West Greenland over a period of twenty years and it will serve as a timely and complementary balance to the paleo- oceanographic studies in the NE North Atlantic. The region of Baffin Island, Baffin Bay and West Greenland is probably the best place in the world to examine the interactions between ice, land and oceans on timescales of a few hundred to many thousands of years. Two introductory chapters outline the history of research and the physical background. In Part II the evidence for glacial erosion and deposition over the eastern Canadian Arctic is examined and the history of the Baffin Island continental shelf is described. Part III deals with the paleo- oceanography of Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea through an examination of deep-sea cores dated by several different methods. In Part IV there is a comprehensive account of the stratigraphy of Baffin Island, Bylot Island, and West Greenland, from the Pliocene to the late Wisconsin. Part V examines the climatic effects of the past 10,000 years, considering evidence from pollen analysis, glacier fluctuations, changes of sea level and the response of early (Eskimo) man. This important volume will interest all quaternary scientists, especially those in glaciology, glacial geology, marine geology, and geomorphology.

The focus of this book is on oceanic climate change during the last deglaciation period and the high temporal resolution that can be obtained from sediment records at continental margin sites. The book draws together papers from the north-eastern North American continental margin with those from the north-west European Arctic and the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans.

Understanding the ebb and flow of materials on the earth's surface is vital to comprehending environmental change. We need to differentiate between those that represent a progression of natural events from those that might be human induced. The latter can be managed by changing policies; the former probably cannot. This volume presents what researchers know and do not know about the base (or natural) level of surficial fluxes and their dynamics. Leading experts in the field offer a historical perspective on geofluxes and discuss the cycles of materials on the earth's surface, from weathering processes to the movement of material through the river system and oceans to their deposition. The committee sets research directions in five areas: shallow-water studies, mapping, rates of change, sample dating, andâ€"most criticalâ€"understanding whether human influence can exceed the natural variability in geoflux processes. This volume will be important reading for geophysical scientists, researchers, faculty, and students, as well as environmental policymakers.